Separatist Web
by Cuthalion97
Summary: After the events of 'Lair of Grievous', Kit Fisto is sent back to Vassek III with Delta Squad, an elite team of commandos. Their mission: obtain data and destroy Grievous' fortress. In the meantime, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Cody, Rex, and other clones from the 212th and 501st head to Rattatak. Their mission: confront and capture Ventress. What could possibly go wrong...?
1. Chapter 1

The noise from the constant streams of traffic that surrounded the Jedi Temple did not penetrate the walls of the Council chamber. Kit Fisto stood in the center of the quiet room, facing Masters Yoda and Windu as he gave his report.

"What about your former padawan?" asked Mace Windu thoughtfully.

Closing his eyes briefly, the Nautolan answered, "His heart was in the right place, but he tried to answer Grievous' power with his own."

"To answer power with power, the Jedi way this is not," said Yoda. "In this war, a danger there is, of losing who we are." He glanced up, his deep gaze looking right through Kit Fisto, who bowed slightly as he felt the Grandmaster's quiet sympathy.

Mace Windu leaned forward, resting his chin on one hand. "What can you tell us about this fortress, Master Fisto?" he asked.

"The fact that Count Dooku set a trap there seems to indicate that Grievous returns there often," the Nautolan replied. "And I suspect that the fortress is Grievous' main lair."

He paused thoughtfully. "We found a room with Jedi trophies laid out in it. One of the rooms there was filled with his replacement parts. As for the rest of it, Nahdar and I only went through a small area of the complex when trying to locate the control room."

Yoda hummed. "Grievous' stronghold – allowed to stand, it cannot be."

"I agree," said Mace Windu.

"And I," said Obi-Wan. "However . . ."

"An idea have you?" said Yoda shrewdly.

"Possibly. You mentioned a control room. Did you destroy the main computer?"

Kit Fisto smirked. "Only the power core."

"And that is easy to replace – well, for someone like Anakin, in any case."

The blue hologram of Adi Gallia moved an arm. "I see your point, Master Kenobi. It would be in the Republic's best interests if we attempted to retrieve the data before destroying the fortress."

"Exactly," he replied, stroking his beard. "I would go to greet the good General myself, but Anakin and I have another mission."

Yoda shook his head. "Back to the fortress, Master Fisto will go," he said. "Know the situation best, he will."

"I look forward to it," Kit Fisto replied, his voice darkening slightly. "My fleet is currently occupied in the Abregado system, but I don't think a large team is necessary. I could contact Commander Monnk and have him send a squad of his best men."

"But you'd rather not?" said Shaak Ti, her large eyes focusing on Kit Fisto with unnerving intensity. "It would be foolish to attempt the mission on your own."

He gave her a half-bow. "It would, Master Ti. Foolish and pointless. I am no expert at computers or destroying fortresses. But the clones are no match for Grievous and his MagnaGuards, and we have no idea whether the general is still there."

Adi Gallia spoke again, gesturing to Luminara, who stood to her left. "Our mission will be completed within the week," she said in her low voice. "Master Unduli and I could return and accompany you."

"You can't delay that long," said Shaak Ti. "Grievous will be expecting an attack of some sort. He might destroy the information before you can get there."

"If I may," said Obi-Wan, raising a hand. "My commander has called in specialized squads for infiltration missions before. One team forced Ventress to retreat, and did so without any casualties."

Kit Fisto nodded. "Very impressive."

"Very well, Master Kenobi," said Windu, exchanging a glance with Yoda. "Contact your commander."

Obi-Wan pulled out his holocomm and pressed a button. "Cody, come in."

A small blue image flickered to life in his hand. "General. What's up?"

"Another mission needing specialized troops, I'm afraid. Master Fisto is attempting to infiltrate Grievous' base, recover any data available, and destroy the base as he leaves."

Cody remained motionless for perhaps half a second. "Yes, sir. How many men?"

Obi-Wan turned to Kit Fisto, who stepped forward into the hologram's range. "As few as possible, Commander. Perhaps as few as two, if those troopers are skilled with computers and explosives."

"I can do that, sir," said Cody, pulling out a datapad and typing in a command. "In fact, I think I have just the team for you."

Kit Fisto nodded. "Thank you, Commander. I look forward to your report."

"And Cody," said Obi-Wan. "Recall the men from shore leave and have them prepare the ship for departure. I know it's earlier than we'd planned, but we're being given another mission."

"Yes, sir. Are we still sending the _Advocate _to Kamino for the new recruits?"

"Yes. I've already moved the rest of the fleet to support Admiral Yularen in the Arkanis Sector. Oh, and if you can get a hold of Rex, ask him to pass a message to Anakin. I need him on the _Negotiator _by 1300 hours."

"Will do, sir." Cody stiffened to attention, then vanished.

Obi-Wan put his holocomm away and looked up to see Mace Windu watching him, one eyebrow lifted. He smiled apologetically. "I'm afraid that my former padawan is not answering my calls. To be fair, though, we did expect to be on leave for another three movements."

Shaak Ti sighed. "This war is not letting anyone rest," she said. "Least of all the Jedi and their troops."

"Indeed," said Luminara. "We seem to barely complete one mission before being sent on the next." She gave a wry smile. "But at least that means the Separatists are getting no rest either."

"True," said Obi-Wan. "Master Yoda, what exactly does this mission entail? You suggested I bring Anakin."

"To Rattatak, you must go." Yoda narrowed his eyes, looking at the ground. "A wild planet, full of evil, it is."

"We have reason to believe that Ventress comes from Rattatak," said Mace Windu slowly. "She might not have bested any of the Jedi yet, but it is only a matter of time before she becomes more dangerous even than Grievous. She has sabotaged several ships, and singlehandedly killed hundreds of our men."

Luminara nodded. "As most of you know, it was she who freed Nute Gunray from the _Tranquility. _I lost almost a full company of men to her, and she would have killed me if not for Padawan Ahsoka."

"Might I ask why you think she comes from Rattatak?" Obi-Wan asked. "Not that a world of criminals wouldn't suit her, but I was under the impression that she was a Dathomirian."

Luminara glanced at him. "She is. When I meditated after the battle, however, my mind went only to Rattatak. We did some research; there is a castle there. From the local records I read, it seems that she defeated the warlords and took over leadership of the capital."

"I assume you have the location of this castle?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Indeed." Her lips twitched wryly. "It was not hard to locate Castle Ventress."

Obi-Wan blinked. "How – unassuming."

"Your mission will be to take General Skywalker and capture Ventress," Mace Windu said. "I advise caution. Not only is the planet full of criminals and sympathetic towards the Separatists, but Ventress has spread her hatred of the Jedi to the Rattataki."

"Perhaps," said Adi Gallia. "I suspect that a civilization such as theirs would not take kindly to the Jedi, in any case."

"True enough," said Obi-Wan. "It will certainly be a challenge."

Mace Windu glanced across at him, unimpressed. "That's putting it lightly."

An hour later, the Council adjourned, Obi-Wan and Kit Fisto landed the small passenger transport in the hangar bay of the _Negotiator_. Anakin turned from where he had been having an argument with R2 and grinned.

"Well, Master, I thought you were waiting for me."

Obi-Wan made a show of checking his chronometer. "I said 1300 hours, Anakin. You still have ten minutes. And where is Ahsoka?"

"I sent her up to the bridge. Greetings, Master Fisto. Are you coming with us?"

"General Skywalker," said the Nautolan. "I have a mission to Vassek III."

"Again?" Anakin shrugged. "Well, have fun."

They entered the elevator. Obi-Wan pressed the control for the bridge and gave Anakin a look. "Why weren't you answering my calls? Why is it that every time we're on Coruscant, I have to go through my commander, and then your captain, _or_ your padawan, to reach you?"

Anakin grinned. "Just trying to keep you on your toes, Master. Besides, Cody was able to contact me directly. Maybe you just didn't try hard enough."

The doors opened, and the clones on duty stood at attention as the three Jedi entered the bridge. Obi-Wan waved a hand. "At ease, men. Anakin, I've called you nine times over the past two hours. Perhaps _you_ should make more of an effort _not_ to ignore your comm signal, and then we wouldn't have these little misunderstandings."

Anakin ignored him. "Hey, Snips."

Obi-Wan took the liberty of sending an exasperated look at the back of his head. "I don't think that –"

"It's okay, Master," said Anakin cheerfully. "Everyone has their off days."

Ahsoka piped up, her arms crossed. "_That's_ for sure, Master. You were so morose after our last mission that getting you to talk was like pulling a rancor's tooth!"

Anakin looked defensive. "I was tired! And you were literally bouncing off the walls."

"General Kenobi," said Cody, over Obi-Wan's exaggerated sigh. "I thought you might want to have this."

Obi-Wan glanced down at the data-pad wearily. "What is it, Commander?"

"It's a code Switch and I put together, specifically for General Skywalker's comm. It should override the protocols he uses to block your messages."

Obi-Wan brightened. "Why, thank you, Cody. I'm sure this will prove to be useful." He glanced up, clearing the screen quickly as Anakin joined them.

Kit Fisto held back a grin; there was no point in arousing young Skywalker's suspicions before the trap could be sprung. Anakin raised an eyebrow at him, as though to ask what he had found amusing. He gazed back blankly. Anakin narrowed his eyes.

"So. What's the plan this time, Masters?" asked Ahsoka.

"You are going back to the Temple, young one," said Obi-Wan, ignoring her immediate frown. "Just because there's a war doesn't mean you can't keep up on your studies."

"But – Master Kenobi –"

"Now, Snips," said Anakin, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure Obi-Wan wouldn't order you back to the temple without reason."

Ahsoka stared at him as though she didn't recognize him, then looked at Obi-Wan, who was giving Anakin a strange look of his own.

"Anakin . . ."

"What?"

Obi-Wan sighed. "Never mind. Ahsoka, that message comes from Master Mundi, who is overseeing your clan's instruction for the next week."

Her shoulders drooped, but she nodded. "Yes, Master Kenobi. Just . . . don't do anything too exciting without me."

"Huh," said Anakin. "We'll probably get put on patrol duty anyway."

"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves," Obi-Wan replied, turning to Cody. "Are we ready to get underway?"

"The last shipment of supplies is on its way here, General," said Cody, glancing at the data manifest nearby. "Captain Rex and Torrent Company are in the armory, checking the new weapons. All systems have already been double-checked. We'll be prepared to leave within the hour."

"Wait, Torrent Company?" said Anakin. "I'm guessing this is going to be a covert mission, then?"

"With _you_ along?" Obi-Wan replied snidely.

Kit Fisto laughed. "Commander, I hope your men are ready for some action."

Cody nodded and turned on the holoprojector, bringing up a star map. "General Fisto, sir. I contacted Captain Martz of the RAS _Prosecutor_ about a commando team. He is standing by to speak with you, at your convenience."

"Very well, then."

The clone at the communications station nodded. The holoprojector flickered to life, and the mustached man in impeccable naval uniform before them saluted. "General Kenobi, General Fisto."

"Captain," said Obi-Wan. "What is your position?"

"We're currently orbiting the sixth moon of Fondor. Delta is just completing their mission, sir," said the man.

"They're already on a mission?" asked Kit Fisto.

Captain Martz gave a microscopic shrug. "They're always on a mission. Once they complete this one, we're moving to the Outer Rim, where I'll be deploying three commando teams. Commander Cody requested Delta Squad for General Fisto, sir; if you prefer, I can wait at Fondor a while longer for you to pick them up."

Obi-Wan pulled up a holomap, stroking his beard as he stared at it. "Hmm . . ."

Wordlessly, Cody pointed out Rattatak's position just as Anakin said, "There's Vassek III, in I-17."

"They're fairly close," Obi-Wan noted. "Captain, rather than waiting for us, I suggest you set a course for Gannaria, in the Trilon Sector. That should save time for both of us."

The captain waited for a moment, looking at his own map, before giving a decisive nod. "Very well, General. We'll meet you there."

The call ended, and Obi-Wan looked up to see Anakin watching him. "So, Master, what exactly are we doing on Rattatak?"

**Any feedback you wish to leave will be greatly appreciated! :) **

**Also, Switch is a character invented by Spectersticks, who writes absolutely incredible Clone Wars stories. Thank you for letting me use him!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Boss, get _down!_"

Delta Thirty-Eight threw himself behind the nearest wall, staggering as the ground shook violently. The acrid smell of hot metal penetrated his helmet's filtration system, searing his throat. Letting out a ragged cough, he peered through the smoke at his last position. The grey, underground moss that had surrounded the team for most of the last day had vanished completely, leaving the room behind him – or what he could see of it – lined with black ash.

"Squad, report," he ordered hoarsely. "What _was_ that?"

"Some sort of grenade, sir," said Fixer, his voice crackling in and out through the comms. "The blast radius reads as forty meters. And the plant life – odd."

"Not just odd," Sev grunted. "Looks like the droids weren't damaged at all." A quick salvo of blaster shots sounded. "Fixed that."

"What do you mean, 'weren't damaged'?"

"They were still functioning like nothing happened," said Fixer. "The grenade hit right next to them."

"I don't like the sound of that," Boss said. He considered for a moment, checking his blaster's ammo clip. "Scorch, form up."

The demolitions expert jogged across the room to join him, ducking his head to avoid the low ceiling. "Right here, Boss."

"Fixer. Scorch and I will proceed to the LZ and clear it for Four-Two. Are you still in the command room?"

"We just left it."

"Okay. Head back, see if you can find any intel on that grenade, then join us."

"Got it, sir."

Boss got to his feet and considered the two corridors that led away from their current position. Both led in the right direction, and both were empty, as far as he could see – which didn't mean all that much when you were underground. "Advisor, anything nearby we should be aware of?"

"My readings show fewer droids in the left-hand corridor. Gunship Hawkins is nearby, but he'll need that cannon taken out before he lands."

"Right. Scorch, we're taking the left-hand corridor. Let's leave a clear trail for Fixer and Oh-Seven."

Scorch slung his pack off his shoulders, withdrawing a demo pack. He placed it on the ceiling of the right-hand corridor, set it, and gave Boss the thumbs-up as he ran back across the room. "Five, four, three –"

Boss pressed the detonator.

The ground vibrated, and miniscule bits of duracrete drifted through the air.

". . . One," Scorch finished. He leaned forward, peering at the destruction. "Yep. No one's getting through here."

The cannon, when they got outside, was almost ridiculously easy to destroy. The droid guarding it didn't see the two commandos until Scorch stuck his vibroblade between its photoreceptors. After that, it was the work of moments for Boss to carefully place his last thermal beneath the seat of the cannon. The droid operating the gun disappeared in a flash of flame, still blissfully unaware of their presence.

"Landing zone's clear, Four-Two," Boss said.

"Took you long enough," the pilot joked. "ETA two minutes."

Scorch wandered over to what was left of the cannon and prodded it. "You know, they really should shield these things."

"I'll be sure to inform Count Dooku of your opinion," said Advisor dryly. "Delta Lead, we just received a transmission from Commander Cody of the 212th. He's got a special mission for you."

"Sounds interesting. Any details?"

"Not yet. He and General Kenobi are leaving Coruscant within the hour. They'll meet us in the Trilon sector."

"That's on the edge of Wild Space," Boss mused. "I wonder what the Separatists have going on there."

A dull throbbing of engines heralded the arrival of the gunship, and Boss looked back at the tunnels. "Fixer, our ride's here."

"On our way, Boss. Advisor's got all the data I found. From what I saw, that grenade was commissioned by some guy named Lok Durd. The mine was being used as a testing ground for different designs of it."

"Hmm. Our operations here should back up their schedule a bit," Boss said, looking with satisfaction at the caved-in tunnels that marked the surface.

"Especially since that droid threw their newest prototype at us," said Sev, his voice darkly gleeful.

"Huh," said Scorch. "Even for a droid, that was a pretty dumb thing to do."

"Must have been dysfunctional," Fixer left the tunnel. "Last explosive set, Boss."

They climbed into the gunship, and as the pilot took off, Boss thumbed the detonator casually. The blast doors slid shut over the crunching of collapsing masonry.

"Another day, another Separatist defeat," Scorch said.

"We have another mission in less than twelve hours," Boss said, removing his helmet and wiping his forehead. "Everyone rest up and double check gear and weapons."

"Yes, sir," said Fixer. "I heard the _Prosecutor_ was being moved to the Outer Rim." "We're headed for the Trilon Sector at the request of Commander Cody."

"Two-twelfth, right?" Sev asked.

"Yes. He and General Kenobi are set to meet us. I assume they'll be briefing us in person." The gunship slowed noticeably as it approached the cruiser, and Boss replaced his helmet.

Scorch hefted his gun onto one shoulder. "Should be interesting."

The gunship settled into the hangar with a final shudder, and the doors opened.

"Delta Squad." The commandos turned to see Advisor approaching. "Glad to see you made it back in one piece."

"We always do," said Boss.

Advisor's helmet tilted, and Boss could imagine the dry look he was being given. All he said, though, was, "You have eleven standard hours until we meet up with the _Negotiator._ I suggest you make the most of it."

"Right," said Boss. "Squad, dismissed."

The hangar of the _Negotiator_ was quiet when there wasn't a battle in progress, Obi-Wan reflected. Or perhaps it was just the hour of day. On Coruscant, it would be half an hour past midnight. The very thought caused him to bite back a yawn, and he occupied himself with glancing around the hangar.

The occasional patrol passed, the clones on duty conversing in low voices, and there were engineers working on one of the gunships. Closer at hand, a familiar pair of boots stuck out from beneath one of the Delta-7 starfighters. With a shake of his head, Obi-Wan moved in their direction and stood over the ship, arms folded. "I thought you were finishing that report."  
There was a grunt of surprise and Anakin's voice retorted, "Well, _I _thought _you _were preparing for Rattatak."

"I finished my research. What are you doing, anyway?"

"Replacing the sensor array. Again." Anakin scooted out from beneath the spacecraft and got to his feet, brushing himself off. "Where's Artoo when I need him? That makes the third time the array's been shot off this week."

"Maybe if you didn't insist on staying in the thick of battle, you wouldn't have to repair your ship so often."

The look Anakin gave him was patently unimpressed. He seemed to realize something, then, because he glanced around the hangar and back at Obi-Wan. "Hey, you aren't usually in the hangar."

"A good observation. As a matter of fact, I am waiting for the commandos to arrive."

"Wait's over," said Anakin cheerfully, pointing over Obi-Wan's head.

A gunship crossed the shield and turned ninety degrees, landing more quickly than could be considered truly safe; it's engines shut off before it actually hit the ground. Anakin's eyebrows jumped in appreciation at the pilot's skill . . . or perhaps at his audacity; Obi-Wan wasn't sure he really wanted to know which.

Instead, he approached the gunship, Anakin at his side. The doors opened to reveal five clones: four of them wore differently colored commando armor, and one wore plain white armor. The commandos seemed to be carrying a good deal of specialized equipment. He narrowed his eyes. Was that a _detpack _strapped to the yellow commando's leg? That couldn't be safe.

The five clones lined up, their helmets all turned in Obi-Wan's direction. The orange-marked one saluted. "Delta Squad reporting, General Kenobi."

"Good to meet you," he replied. "This is General Skywalker. General Fisto is on the bridge, finishing up communications with his fleet commander. If you'll accompany me there, we'll start the briefing. I understand Captain Martz wants to get underway as soon as possible."

"Lead the way, sir," the orange-painted one said, the other four remaining silent.

Obi-Wan turned toward the bridge with a brisk nod. These commandos seemed even more uptight than Cody had been on his first mission. It would be interesting to see how they got along with Kit's relaxed form of leadership. Then again, commandos were used to working on their own.

He shrugged the thoughts off. There was enough to consider for his own mission as it was. Still, it might make for an interesting story, the next time he and Kit met at the Temple.

**Well, there's the first chapter with Delta Squad! :) I tried to base them completely off the game characters, since that seemed to fit into the whole mindset of the 'Clone Wars' series more than the Karen Traviss books - which, to be fair, I haven't read for real. Only a few chapters, really. Anyway, please let me know what you think! Do they 'sound' like themselves? This chapter's a little shorter, but there's some action this time. . . :)**


	3. Chapter 3

The bridge of the _Negotiator_ was just like the bridge of every other Republic Acclamator-class cruiser Delta Thirty-Eight had been on. What made this one interesting was the fact that there were three Jedi Masters standing around the holoprojector just in front of him. He'd seen only one of the fabled Jedi Masters before. Master Windu, just after the Battle of Geonosis, had congratulated the squad on their success. But he'd only been present for a few moments, when they were just about ready to drop from exhaustion.

Now that they were going on a mission with a Jedi, it would be best to learn something about them beforehand. Cody might be a good man to ask.

As if summoned by his thoughts, Cody stepped forward. "General, I'll need your authorization for this supply request."

"Ah, yes. Thank you, Cody." The bearded Jedi Master accepted the datapad, glanced over it, and signed it. "Master Fisto?"

"One moment," murmured the Nautolan Jedi's accented voice. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Master Skywalker."

The younger Jedi scuffed one boot against the other. "No, no. Take your time." He didn't seem particularly patient, with his fingers tapping against his opposite arm. The visual aid on Boss' HUD lit up, a green flicker passing over Skywalker's right arm. A prosthetic . . . interesting.

The bridge door hissed open, and the young Jedi turned, brightening. "Rex. How's the shuttle looking?"

"The men finished changing it to your specifications, sir." A clone captain came into view, blue jaig-eyes painted on his helmet. Not many clones had those. There was probably a reason he was captain of the legendary and allegedly insane 501st.

"Good," said Skywalker. "The criminal scum on that planet should have no reason to suspect a pirate ship."

"Oh, is that why," said the captain. "Might want to be careful in the future – Hawk had a little too much fun. Looks like the forward turret will need replacing."

Skywalker grimaced, and Kenobi looked politely quizzical. Boss decided it was probably best that Scorch and Sev weren't getting a chance to work with the 501st. They'd get too many ideas.

Beside him, Fixer shifted slightly, his helmet tilted in General Fisto's direction. Most likely, he was accessing any records he could from the Republic database on the Nautolan. Almost in response to Thirty-Eight's thoughts, one of the clone technicians glanced at his computer, then at the commandos, an odd look on his face. He was probably wondering who was downloading through his terminal.

Before anyone could speak, the Nautolan looked up. "I apologize," he said. "I would have come to the _Prosecutor _immediately, but I had to arrange positions for my fleet."

"No problem," said Scorch. "It was getting boring over there anyway."

Fortunately, the faint sigh that Fixer let out could only be heard through the comms.

The general looked directly at Boss, blinking his large eyes. "You are the sergeant?"

"Delta Thirty-Eight, General," he replied. "Six-Two's the demolitions expert. The sniper is Oh-Seven, and Four-Oh is the technician." He smirked. "The one with the rookie armor is actually our tactical coordinator."

"Call me Advisor," the other man said. He glanced at Boss. "I don't _usually_ work in the field, but because the _Prosecutor_ will be leaving, I'm going to accompany the squad for this one."

"I look forward to working with all of you," said the Nautolan, with a slight bow. He turned to the holoprojector. "Our mission is to infiltrate Grievous' lair on Vassek III."

The squad moved closer, studying the schematics. "Infiltration is easy," said Sev, his helmet turning in General Fisto's direction. "What's the rest of the mission?"

"The objectives are two-fold. We must retrieve data from Grievous' central computer, and then destroy the fortress."

"Sounds fun," said Scorch, his head tilted in a way that told Boss he was calculating something involving explosives. "Uh – how destroyed do you want it?"

General Fisto chuckled. "I don't want anything in the fortress to be accessible by anyone when we're done with it, if that's what you mean."

"Right," said Scorch. "We'll have to collapse all three levels, then . . ."

Boss leaned forward, pointing at a room that was highlighted in yellow. "I take it this is the computer room?"

The general nodded. "Ah, yes – I should mention that the computer's power core will need to be replaced."

General Skywalker looked up with an almost mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Why, what happened to the original one?"

"I put my lightsaber through it to short out the security locks."

"We can handle that," said Fixer. "Do you have a schematic of the computer itself?"

"I'm afraid not. The schematic you're looking at now is from the basic scan I performed with my starfighter upon arrival. My team and I only explored one level of the base."

Boss said nothing, but Advisor glanced at him. He knew, as well as anyone, what could happen with bad or incomplete intel. This mission would have to be taken as slowly as possible. Boss lifted his right hand slightly. Fixer flicked two fingers in response – he had all the records available from the last mission to Vassek III. Maybe they'd be able to work out a few details that the general had simply not noticed. . .  
"Understood, sir," he said aloud. "Is there anything else we should know?"

"Grievous might be there." The Nautolan frowned, clenching one fist.

Ah, that must be why the Jedi was coming along. Even commando armor wouldn't hold up against lightsabers. At the same time, Grievous had killed many Jedi by now, and gotten away from even more. This mission was looking better all the time.

"Well, have fun," Skywalker said, neatly summarizing the whole briefing. "We're off to Rattatak to deal with Dooku's bog witch."

"Heh," said Captain Rex. ". . . Great."

Cody folded his arms, frowning at the ground.

"Right," said General Kenobi. "And we have to go plan for that."

"Well, then, assuming we all survive this," said Skywalker, with a grin in Boss' direction, "We'll see you back here within a couple rotations. Or sooner."

"Or we'll be running to rescue them," said Rex.

Boss gave him his trademark blank stare, which – according to Scorch – could be felt through the helmet for lightyears. Six-Two ought to know; he was on the receiving end of it often enough.

Sev hefted his rifle. "Or we'll by running to pick up what's left of you," he said.

"Drinks are on the loser," Skywalker replied.

General Fisto gave him a bright grin. "I hope you got paid this week."

"Commandos versus regs?" Scorch snickered. "No contest there."

"Yeah?" said Rex, resting a hand on one of the two pistols he wore. "You hear of the last mission the 501st and 212th went on together?"

"Must have missed it," Sev grunted. "Why, did you win?"

"It's news when we _fail_, not when we win," Rex replied frostily.

"Hey, Sev, have we _ever_ failed?" Scorch asked.

General Skywalker smirked. "Maybe not yet, but I'm sure you'll learn."

Fixer and Cody looked at each other, silently communicating their disapproval of the situation and their comrades' behavior. Advisor said nothing, his face and posture stoic as always, though he did glance at General Fisto when the Nautolan laughed. Sev and Scorch had more or less faced off with Captain Rex. As for General Skywalker – he looked positively gleeful. One of the unspoken rules of survival dictated that the unknown was always to be treated with caution, and 'gleeful' was not an expression Boss had ever expected to associate with a Jedi.

He was just wondering if he should intervene when General Kenobi stepped between the two groups. "Yes, well, all that aside," he said. "The Separatists won't wait for us to finish this discussion."

"You are right, of course, Master Kenobi," the Nautolan replied with a bow. "If you would be so kind as to put a call through to the Council? We should notify them that we are ready to proceed with our respective missions."

"Of course."

As the three generals waited to speak with their fellow Jedi, Boss signaled his squad to stay put and approached Cody. "Commander Cody."

The scarred commander glanced up from his datapad, a slight frown between his eyebrows. "Yes, sergeant?"

"We've never worked with a Jedi before. Anything we should know?"

Cody paused thoughtfully before answering. "I haven't worked directly with General Fisto myself, but he's known to be one of the best duelists in the Jedi Order." He glanced at his own general, a wry look entering his eyes. "You'll have to stay alert. Jedi tend to do pretty crazy things, particularly where the mission is concerned. Or their men. Oh, and when it comes to battles, make sure you don't shoot the general." He sent out an order on his datapad and tapped out a reply to a second message even as he kept talking. "The Jedi – they like to be in the center of the fight."

"Hm," said Boss. "If they're anything as good as I hear, we won't even be needed."

"Don't worry about that. The Jedi Council's been after Grievous since the war began, and no one's caught him yet – or even injured him significantly."

Boss nodded once as a grey-clothed clone officer approached. "Thanks. We'll keep our eyes open."

Cody clapped him on the shoulder. "Good luck with your mission."

Before Boss could reply, the commander had already turned to listen to the technician's report. He rejoined his squad, clicking on his helmet's comm.

"Anything interesting?" said Scorch.

"I'll fill you in later," said Boss. "Fixer, did you learn anything from the reports?"

"General Fisto and his men seriously injured Grievous towards the beginning of the first mission to Vassek III, which took place three standard days ago. Grievous escaped, and his

MagnaGuards destroyed the shuttle."

MagnaGuards were bad news, but if Grievous was injured –

"Within two hours, Grievous was repaired and fully operational," Fixer continued.

Scorch sighed loudly.

"That fast?" asked Sev. "He must have a medical droid there."

"Looks like it," said Fixer. "The two surviving clones were killed: one fell through a trap door into molten metal, and Knight Vebb's commander was caught by a roggwart."

"Lovely." Boss frowned.

Advisor shook his head. "We'll have to be careful on this one. If General Fisto only explored one level . . . Who knows what we'll run into."

"We've been through worse," said Scorch, elbowing him. "Besides, it's about time you got some field experience."

"Knight Vebb was killed by Grievous in single combat," Fixer said. "General Fisto was able to escape after shorting the security system. He fought Grievous once more, but had to retreat when the MagnaGuards arrived."

There was a moment's silence.

"Looks like we have our job cut out for us," said Boss at last.

"One other thing," said Fixer. "Knight Vebb was General Fisto's former padawan."

"Padawan?" asked Scorch. "What's that?"

"A Jedi's apprentice," said Fixer flatly. "Scorch, do you _ever_ use your database?"

"Nah," said Scorch. "You're like an audible database anyway."

Boss glanced at him. "Tone it down. The general's approaching."

The Nautolan joined them, speaking over his shoulder to the other Jedi. "I will be in contact if necessary. May the Force be with you."

He turned to the squad, assessing them quickly. "Alright, let's go. We don't want to keep Grievous waiting."

Scorch gave a huff of amusement as the squad followed. "Yeah, he's not exactly known for his patience. . ."

* * *

** Well, this stage of the mission has had a lot of planning in it, but at last Delta Squad is off. :) I don't know myself how this mission is going to turn out, not yet. To quote Scorch, "This should be good!'**


	4. Chapter 4

Far ahead of the _Negotiator_, Rattatak rotated slowly, brown and arid-looking even from this distance. Obi-Wan stood at the viewport, stroking his beard as he mentally reviewed what he knew. The whole planet was covered in large cities, and the population was in an almost constant state of warfare, with multiple gangs and people dropping in and out of various alliances. His team's destination, Castle Ventress, was right in the middle of the biggest, war-torn, most scum-infested city of the entire planet.

_Perfect._

"Cody," he said. "Have you chosen your team?"

"Yes, sir," his commander, coming up beside Obi-Wan. "General, our intel says these people are hostile towards the Jedi. Are you sure you want to be going down there alone?"

"I'd rather not be going down there at all," he replied with a shrug. "Cody, these people are even more against the Republic than they are the Jedi. They will not take kindly to Republic soldiers being in their streets. Once Anakin and I have taken the castle's shield down, you can land in the courtyard – hopefully without being seen."

"Yes, General. I've left orders for the _Negotiator_ to withdraw to Bakura once we launch the shuttle."

"Excellent. We don't need the entire planet up in arms searching for us. Hopefully they'll think we just stopped by for a trajectory recalibration."

His commlink blinked. "Hey, you going to get down here?" said Anakin. "Everyone's ready except you and Cody."

"Yes, well, patience is a virtue you could all work at." A horrifying thought struck him, and he paused mid-step. "Anakin, we aren't taking the _Twilight,_ are we?"

"Of course, Master. It's perfectly suited for this kind of mission."

Obi-Wan entered the elevator with Cody, pretending not to hear the laughter in Anakin's voice. "Are you sure you can't find something less likely to . . . crash?"

"I could, but the clones and I went to a lot of trouble to make it look like a smugglers' ship. What's the matter, don't you trust my flying?"

The doors opened to reveal the _Twilight, _Anakin standing on the lowered ramp. He glanced up, clicking off his commlink.

"You always manage to crash," Obi-Wan answered, raising his voice so as to be heard clearly. He looked at the outside of the ship for a long moment. "May I ask why there are heavy-blaster marks all along this side?"

"I told you, we made it look like a smugglers' ship."

". . . you shot it," Cody said.

"Well, yeah. How else were we going to make it fit in?"

Obi-Wan shut his eyes ever so briefly. "I trust it can still land?"

"Of course. Come on, Master, you're acting like we shot the _engines_ or something."

He turned and vanished into the ship's interior, leaving Cody and Obi-Wan on the ramp. They glanced at each other.

"You don't think . . .?" began Obi-Wan.

Cody hesitated. "I wouldn't put it past them, sir, but General Skywalker's good with ships. He'd probably know if he'd damaged anything too badly."

"I hope you're right."

The ramp closed behind them and the deck vibrated as the engines fired up. In spite of Cody's words, and Anakin's undeniable skill, Obi-Wan felt himself bracing for an explosion that never came. The ship jolted as it took off, and a moment later the artificial gravity came on.

The speaker system crackled, and Anakin's voice said, "See?"

Electing to ignore his former apprentice, Obi-Wan moved about the hold, checking on the men. The clones with yellow-painted armor were hurriedly giving their weapons a last check, and those marked with blue paint were placing bets on who would kill the most droids. Typical pre-battle behavior, then.

He glanced over the members of his own battalion, wondering whom Cody had picked: Waxer, Boil, Wooley, Longshot, Gadget, Switch, Snap. . . He didn't recognize the last clone.

"New recruit, Cody?" he asked, nodding in the soldier's direction.

"No, sir. He just painted his armor. He still hadn't picked a name, so when I transferred him to Ghost squadron, the men decided to call him Ghost."

"Alright, men, listen up." Anakin walked into the room, his hands locked behind his back. The men jumped to attention. "Oddball's going to drop Obi-Wan and me off at the city spaceport. We'll move to the castle and take down the shields. Then, and only then, will you take off and land at the castle. I've already loaded codes that should allow you by the castle's outer defenses without a problem. Once you land in the courtyard, lock down the perimeter and wait for further orders."

"General," said one of the 501st clones. "What's our objective?"

"Uh," was Anakin's eloquent response.

He looked at Obi-Wan, who stepped smoothly in to fill the gap. "To put it simply, we're going after Ventress."

"'Going after'," repeated Boil. "Capturing or killing, sir?"

"Ideally, we're to bring her back to Coruscant unharmed," he replied. "Your part in the mission is a little less clear. We have no idea what forces she has, or what kind of trouble we'll run into."

"Right," said Cody. "You men will stay with Captain Rex and I until we receive orders from the generals. We could be seeing a lot of action, or none at all."

"Generals," said Oddball. "We're approaching the spaceport. I'm sending them our landing code now."

Everyone quieted, waiting for the next report. Some of the clones shifted or rested their hands on their weapons.

The ship slowed noticeably, jostling a little.

"We're in the atmosphere," said Oddball. "They haven't responded to the codes yet, but – Sir, they're asking for our cargo manifest."

"Tell them we're here to pick something up," said Anakin, with a slight grin. "No cargo as of yet."

"Yes, sir." A moment later, the speakers clicked again. "We're cleared to land, generals. Uh, the official said the fee is four hundred credits."

Anakin rolled his eyes. "Of course he did. Fine, we'll handle it. Keep out of sight, men, and – have fun waiting, I guess."

"General," said Rex with a salute. "Try not to get captured this time."

"Come on, Rex, that was _one _time."

"Yes, sir. Just a suggestion."

"Thank you," said Anakin dryly. "Make sure you and your men don't blow up anything without my permission this time."

"Just following your lead, General."

"Commander," said Obi-Wan, a little louder than usual, so as to be heard over the others' bickering. "Keep on the lookout. Ventress didn't get to be ruler of Rattatak by being careless, and I imagine she might have a few nasty surprises in store for us – even if she doesn't know we're coming."

Cody replied with a sharp nod, and Obi-Wan hurriedly put on his long cloak, pulling it over his lightsaber. When he got to the bottom of the ramp, Anakin had already paid off the spaceport official, a Weequay with a long-nosed pistol, and was checking the map on his wrist-projector.

"Okay," he said. "It looks like we've got to get through three miles of slaver-filled streets before we reach the castle."

"Just stay focused," said Obi-Wan. "If any talking is needed, I'll handle it."

Pulling the Force around themselves in a shield that would make them less noticeable, the two Jedi set off.

* * *

The streets of Rattatak were crowded, so much so that Obi-Wan was having trouble maneuvering through them without walking into anyone. The Force buzzed in his mind with a high level of watchfulness, surrounded as he was by criminals of every known caliber. There were several minds with lethal intent on this street alone, though none of the would-be murderers were focused on him or Anakin. Yet.

"I'll be glad to get out of here," muttered Anakin, ducking around a group of drunken Rodians. "I hate places like this."

"Keep it down," said Obi-Wan, nodding a terse greeting to a Besalisk that stood in the doorway of run-down cantina. The tall alien folded four arms across his massive chest, watching the two of them with narrowed eyes. "Even with the Force, we're attracting attention. People here seem to be naturally suspicious."

A laser shot sounded across the street, and a Weequay sniper screamed as he fell from a rooftop. The Jedi hurried to get out of range of the ensuing firefight, their minds focused on their surroundings with more intensity than before.

"This whole planet is a war waiting to happen," Obi-Wan observed. "Somehow it doesn't surprise me that Ventress rules it."

"It's worse than Tatooine," said Anakin with disgust, nodding towards a woman who was in the process of stealing a Twi'lek's moneybag.

"The worst of the galaxy gravitates towards Rattatak," said Obi-Wan. "And I'm afraid the worst of _them_ gravitate toward this city."

The Twi'lek who had been robbed turned around with a yell of fury and backhanded the woman into the street, drawing a knife. She shot him twice and ran off with the bag as he collapsed mid-scream.

Anakin winced. "We've only been here half an hour, and that's the fourth murder we've seen!"

"The dark side of the Force is strong here," said Obi-Wan quietly. "We must be extremely careful, Anakin."

They could see the castle now, a tall building of red sandstone that towered over the rest of the city. Ten pillars situated in front of it held powerful anti-aircraft turrets, and the pillars were connected by a tall wall.

Obi-Wan located a building that was higher than the wall and moved towards it at a leisurely stroll. Anakin's tension was palpable in the Force, and he glanced at him. "Calm down, Anakin, please."

"Sorry. This place is just –"

"Trust me, I know." Obi-Wan squinted up at a sign posted above the doorway. "Is this a cantina or a store?"

"I can't read Neimodian," replied Anakin. "Let's find out."

The door required a code to be inserted for entrance, but the necessary numbers were so clearly worn off the pad that it was the work of moments to get the right three-digit combination.

Anakin strode through the door. "Huh. No one here. It looks like a speeder shop."

"How could you tell?" said Obi-Wan sarcastically, gesturing to the forty speeders lined up against the far wall. "Come on, we need to get to the roof before the owner returns."

"I can't believe you've taken up housebreaking," said Anakin in mock horror as they ran up the stairs.

"It's not a private residence, or I wouldn't dream of it," said Obi-Wan, stumbling as the metal stairs tilted beneath him.

"Yeah, I know. Still, it feels weird to be ducking the law like this."

"Hmm," he agreed, reaching for the control that would open the roof door. "I suppose it's fortunate that the law here seems to be survival of the fittest."

They made sure the low-edged roof was free of inhabitants before creeping forward to the edge that overlooked the castle. Obi-Wan took out his electrobinoculars as Anakin kept watch on the street below.

"Hopefully no one thinks we're snipers or assassins," said Anakin.

"This is hardly the time," Obi-Wan replied, ducking a little lower all the same. He focused the binoculars on the castle's entrance, easily visible now behind the wall. Two super battle droids stood to either side of the main door, and four more patrolled the area in front of the castle.

There would be no getting in that way, at least not without killing the guards. He shifted position, zooming in on the docking bay. It was empty. He frowned, checking more carefully. The Geonosian fighter that was practically Ventress' trademark should be there, unless perhaps she had a docking bay in the castle itself.

He lowered the binoculars. "Anakin, I don't see her ship anywhere."

"Good," he replied immediately. "If she's not there, it'll be a lot easier to set up an ambush. Did you find a way in?"

"Yes, but we'll have no idea how long we'll have to wait for her to arrive, if she really isn't there," he said, going back to his reconnaissance. "There's a low building connected to the castle on the eastern side. We should try to get in that way."

"Whatever you say, Master."

**Both Switch and Snap are characters from Specterstick's story 'Second Wind', which I strongly recommend you read. . . especially those of you who enjoy stories with Obi-Wan being impossible and Cody trying to pick up the pieces. :) Again, thanks for letting me use them!**


	5. Chapter 5

Cody was recalibrating his lifeform sensor when the click of armored boots sounded on the deck beside him.

"Cody," Rex said, his voice lowered. "It's been four hours already."

"Relax," said Cody, taking off his helmet and tweaking the antenna. "The generals know what they're doing."

"Most of the time, yes," said Rex, sitting down. "I just read a bit about Rattatak."

"So did I. What did you find out?"

"The whole planet seems to hate Jedi. And the Republic."

"Which is exactly why we can't go in yet."

"Right. . ." Rex frowned. "I still don't like it. What happens if Ventress finds out we're here? This landing platform is completely exposed. We could be bombed off the map before we're even able to start the engines."

Cody sighed. He'd considered all this already, several times, but no matter how many times he ran through it, he kept coming to the same conclusion. "Rex, our best chance – and the generals' best chance – is for us to stay here. There's nothing we can do, even if we do leave."

Rex shook his head. "You're right. . . But I still wish we had a little more to go on than watching for the shield to go down."

Cody opened his commlink. "Oddball. Anything from the scanners yet?"

"Shield's still up, sir. No suspicious activity in our vicinity."

"Hmm. Try running a discreet scan on all incoming ships."

"A 'discreet' scan?" said Rex, raising an eyebrow.

"Low level, can't be picked up by other ship scanners."

"Looking for trouble?"

Cody grinned and connected his datapad to the ship's main port. "Let's just say that I like to have all the variables accounted for. If Ventress decides she needs help, she'll probably call off-planet. The natives won't necessarily support her. She took over this planet by force, killing all the warlords one by one."

"General Skywalker says that Ventress is extremely dangerous, even though she's undisciplined in the way she fights," said Rex.

Cody's mind flicked back to his last encounter with Ventress, and one hand lifted automatically, touching the scar that ran over one eye and down the side of his face. "She is undisciplined," he replied. "That's exactly why she's so dangerous – especially when she's about to lose. She'll take anything she can get before escaping."

Something flashed onto his datapad, and he looked down at it, eyes widening as he scanned the incoming data. "Oh, this isn't good."

Rex leaned over, peering at the screen. "What?! General Grievous' ship is _here_?"

"It's his ID, alright. Oddball! Get me a trajectory on the ship identifying as _Soulless One_. We'd better warn the generals." Cody activated his comms, rapidly punching in the scramble set code. "General Kenobi, come in."  
The general answered immediately, his voice lowered almost a whisper. "Cody? I hope this is important."

"Sir!" said Oddball. "The ship's headed directly for the castle."

"General," said Cody. "Sir, Grievous' fighter just entered the atmosphere. It's heading for the castle."

There was a long moment of silence. "Oh, stars," said the general's voice at last, weary exasperation in every tone.

Cody waited, but no instructions followed. "Sir? What are your orders?"

"Just a moment – _no_, Anakin, we are not taking on Grievous _and _Ventress at the same time! –"

"Why not?" said Anakin's voice faintly. "We can't – look out!"

There was a momentary scuffle, a clatter, a blaster shot.

Rex and Cody exchanged silent glances.

"Ah – General?"

No answer.

"Sir, are you all right?"

The commlink crackled. "Sorry about that," the general replied calmly. "Just an errant guard. Where were we?"

Rex leaned closer to Cody's commlink. "Deciding what to do about the cyborg headed directly for you, sir. Should we step in?"

General Kenobi hesitated. "Captain, I appreciate the offer, but I'm not sure if that would be advisable at the moment."

"You can just say 'no', sir," said Rex with a smirk.

"Very well, then. Stay put for now. See if you can get a call through to General Fisto before he lands and let him know he doesn't have to worry about Grievous being there."

"Right away, sir," said Cody.

"Stay alert." The general's voice was suddenly hurried. "I'll contact you if something goes wrong."

"Commander Cody!" said Oddball's voice, as the connection was cut. "The shield just shut off."

Cody jumped for the wall panel. "Stay put! That's not our signal. The shield must have been lowered to let Grievous in."

"Roger that, sir."

Rex snorted, drawing his right-hand blaster and flipping it around. "'If something goes wrong?' If you ask me, something's already going wrong."

"Yeah," said Cody, sitting down again. "And all we can do is wait."

* * *

"General Fisto, incoming transmission from Commander Cody," said Advisor, turning his head suddenly.

The commandos straightened as one.

"Don't tell me they completed their objectives already," complained Scorch. "We _just_ left the _Prosecutor_."

"Yes, commander?" the general said.

"Sir, General Grievous just landed here."

The Nautolan's face darkened slightly. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said after a moment. "Hopefully he does not interfere with your mission."

Cody did not look optimistic. "We'll take care of him," he said all the same.

The _Prosecutor _was only a few kilometers from the shuttle when Captain Martz took her into lightspeed. Delta Thirty-Eight checked his ammo one final time before looking around at his squad mates.

Fixer knelt, triple-checking the contents of his backpack, while Scorch and Sev leaned against the far wall.

"The power core shouldn't be a problem, sir," Fixer said, looking up. "If none of the ports work, I can jury-rig something."

Boss replied with a nod. "Does everyone have ascension cables?"

"Two each," said Scorch. "Belt and gun."

"Good. Those trap doors could be a problem. Be prepared for anything. This'll be our first mission without backup."

"Don't worry, sir," said Sev. "I've got extra ammo."

"You can't eat ammo," Scorch replied. "I hope you left some room for supplies."

Sev tapped the belt around his waist. "Ration bars and hydration tablets. Enough for two days."

"And we shouldn't be away from the shuttle longer than one," Fixer said. "If everything goes according to plan."

"It won't," Scorch said cheerfully. "Good thing we have a bacta tank on the shuttle. . . not that we'll be near enough to use it."

"Which is _why_ we're bringing medkits," Sev said, his tone insinuating that Scorch was being stupid. "If you didn't forget yours."

"Cut it out," Fixer said, getting to his feet. "Sir, is there anything else?"

"Not as long as we have enough explosives and bacta." Boss smiled faintly. "Get ready, Deltas. We're entering the atmosphere."

**Well, well. The enemy isn't where he was expected to be! Don't worry, though. . . The Deltas are not going to have an easy time of it, regardless. . .**

**As the story builds, I'd appreciate it if anyone who notices a plot hole mentions it. ":) Despite my use of 'simultaneous' outlines, I might miss something. Thank'ee kindly!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Bit of a longer chapter this time. Enjoy!**

Obi-Wan and Anakin crouched beneath a computer station, holding their breaths as the patrol walked by. The metallic clanking of the battle droids faded gradually, and Anakin crawled out of their impromptu hiding space. It took Obi-Wan a little longer, as he was still wearing his disguise. Anakin had discarded his own robes the moment they'd sneaked through the gate.

"I don't like that Grievous is here," he mused, following Anakin at a run. "I think I'll go find out what he's up to."

Anakin skidded to a halt at the corner, glanced both ways, and turned right. "Let's get the shield down first and regroup. We still have no idea where Ventress is."

"Wait," said Obi-Wan. "If we lower the shield now, he'll know something's wrong."

"And if we don't, we'll be stuck here by ourselves with a bog witch and a cyborg." He crept up to a large metal door and listened at the door, then pressed the switch. When nothing happened, he shrugged and drew his lightsaber, stabbing through the doorframe until he'd broken through the bolt. "This stairway should lead to the security room."

Obi-Wan, meanwhile, had slipped out of his robes, which he now tossed behind the nearest pile of storage crates. "It looks like you have this handled. I'm going to find the throne room."

"Can't it wait?" he said, stopping a few steps down and glancing back. "This should only take a few minutes."

"I know," Obi-Wan said, stroking his beard. "But Grievous and Ventress hate each other. If they're working together, it must be important."

"Uh-huh," said Anakin. "Well, try not to get yourself killed. I'd hate to have to come and bail you out again."

"That was _one _time," he retorted. His former apprentice muttered something about Jedi Masters forgetting how to count, but Obi-Wan magnanimously decided not to reply.

"Just worry about turning the shield off on my mark," he said.

"Yeah, I've got it."

* * *

The deep gorges and canyons of Vassek III slowly appeared through the mists that seemed to be a permanent part of the moon's atmosphere. Boss stood in the cockpit, watching as Advisor slowed the ship to a near-hover, looking for a place where they could safely land.

In the co-pilot's seat, General Fisto activated the scanners. "We shouldn't use the landing platforms," he mused, pulling up a chart. "It looks like our only other option is to land at the bottom of this canyon and climb up."

"Yes, sir." Advisor brought the ship around and started the landing sequence.

Boss headed back to the hold and waited with his men until a soft jolt told him they'd landed. Advisor and General Fisto joined them a moment later, the Jedi checking his own ascension cable.

"Ready?" he said, and opened the ramp.

The atmosphere was chill and damp, even through the protective bodysuits the commandos wore. Heavy wisps of fog drifted by constantly, making it difficult to see, and the ground was slippery with creeping moss. Boss evaluated his surroundings quickly and moved to the base of the cliff.

"Stay alert," he said automatically. The six of them lined up and aimed their ascenders. Boss kicked off the ground an instant behind the others, wanting to keep an eye on Advisor. The soldier was doing well enough, certainly better than any rookie would have done, but he hadn't had commando training. Neither was he used to working in the field, though he'd been on the ground during the Battle of Geonosis.

As for the Jedi – Boss braced himself against the jagged stones, leaned back to locate the general, and felt his eyebrows jerk upward. The Jedi was far ahead of the others, only making use of his cable for brief moments in between long, distance-eating jumps.

"Great," he said aloud.

Scorch heard him and looked up, too. "Hey, Boss, how are we supposed to protect him if he doesn't wait for us?"

"Guess we're not," Sev replied.

Fixer, who was the farthest ahead, balanced against an outcropping and glanced down. "Just focus on catching up."

It took four and a half minutes for Boss and Advisor to reach the top, the other three clones four minutes, and the Jedi exactly one.

He was perched at the top of the cliff, looking through a set of electrobinoculars, when Boss stepped over the top and retracted his cable.

The general turned to him with a grin. "One more short climb to the landing pad, and we can enter."

Boss nodded. "General Fisto, we should stay together. It's safer for everyone."

He wasn't sure how the Jedi would take being reprimanded, but the Nautolan only bowed his head in acquiescence and moved on.

The second climb was much easier, since all they had to do was hold onto their ascenders and allow themselves to be lifted to the landing platform. Boss caught the edge in both hands and swung himself up, landing on one knee and drawing his pistol. The platform was empty of everything except rubble – large pieces of durasteel that were scattered across the far end.

"Clear," he said, detaching his ascender.

The others joined him rapidly, Advisor staying a little behind the other three.

The general surveyed the wreckage with a grim expression. "That was Nahdar's shuttle," he said. "We must be careful. The MagnaGuards are capable warriors – for droids, that is."

Scorch was surveying the huge stone front of the fortress. "We're going to have to blast through that," he said, already removing his pack.

"Not yet," General Fisto said. "This door opens easily."

Sure enough, he pressed one of the stone blocks in and the door opened without a sound. Scorch slung his pack back over his shoulders with a disappointed air.

"Let's get to the control room." The Nautolan moved easily, not even removing his lightsaber from his belt. Boss signaled to his men to take up guard positions around him, and he brought up the rear. In his experience, most traps were sprung from behind.

"Anything nearby, Fixer?"

"Nothing on scanners, sir."

"When we first came here, there was nothing on the scanners, either," said General Fisto quietly, coming to a stop. "I sense nothing close by, but there _is_ danger here."

He drew his lightsaber, but didn't activate it. "The computer room should be right through here. . ." The door hissed open, and they entered. "I see Grievous has not bothered to repair the damage I caused."

"Nice," said Scorch, glancing at the burn marks in the computer center. "This going to be your base of operations, Advisor?"

Advisor, who had been unusually quiet so far, continued to study the keys that covered the control station. "_If_ we can get it running, and you'd better hope we can. It looks like everything in the base can be controlled from here."

General Fisto opened a door on the opposite wall and stared out into the corridor, then down at the floor as though he expected to see something. Boss watched as the general let out a slow breath, his shoulders lowering slightly. When he turned back to the others, his eyes had changed to a deeper shade of their normal purplish-black, and his mouth was set strangely, but he said nothing.

"There's a set of charging cables back here," called Scorch. "But no droids."

Fixer and Advisor got to work immediately, removing a power unit and various cables from Advisor's pack. Fixer leaned over the control board. "Why didn't Grievous have this repaired?" he muttered. "A basic replacement is all that's needed."

"Maybe he didn't plan on coming back," said Boss, joining him. He kicked the remains of a medical droid out of the way, noting with interest that both the medical droid and the chair beside it had been cut in half.

"That doesn't make sense," said Sev. "Why would he just leave everything?"

"Probably because he can just get replacements," said Scorch.

"I think not," said General Fisto, his demeanor back to normal. "The room we found had hundreds of replacement parts for his cybernetic limbs. Those would not have been cheap – even for Grievous."

Boss unhooked his blaster from his belt. "Scorch, stay here. Sev, you and I will check the corridors." He turned to leave, then paused, remembering the proper and completely unfamiliar chain of command. "Unless you have other orders, General?"

General Fisto looked up. "I usually work alone," he said, with that odd air of cheerfulness that seemed peculiar to him. "You command the squad, sergeant. If the MagnaGuards show up, I'll handle them."

"Yes, sir."

Boss moved quickly into the hall, Sev at his shoulder. He tried not to feel unprofessionally relieved, but failed. Whatever else this mission became, at least it wouldn't be like that one on Kelfor, with the incompetent Captain Ozzel making decisions on things he knew nothing about. He'd gotten a lot of good men killed that day, and if the 104th hadn't arrived, the Republic might well have lost the battle.

The commandos had been ordered to stay at the Republic base – 'held in reserve', Ozzel had said, and Boss still remembered Scorch's loud indignance. That situation had changed quickly when the 104th's general sent Commander Wolffe to take control of the situation.

Commander Wolffe was a competent, no-nonsense clone with a prosthetic eye – his original one had been sliced out by a Dark Acolyte. He was openly scornful of Ozzel when he delivered the general's orders, to the point where he'd had Fixer wincing at his tone, despite the fact that Wolffe was the captain's superior.

And Ozzel had been afraid of the scarred clone – afraid and resentful.

There was obviously some previous history between the two, but Boss hadn't spent too much time thinking about it. He was simply glad to be back in the action, particularly since he and Advisor had been trying to pressure Ozzel into going after the airbase since the troops touched ground.

After the mission's completion, Wolffe had pulled Delta Thirty-Eight aside and spoken in an undertone to him. He'd told him how Ozzel had openly betrayed the Republic at the Battle of Khorm. He'd even warned him that, the next time they were sent on a mission with Ozzel, Boss might have to take matters into his own hands. "Consider that a direct order from me," Wolffe had told him, his gaze intense. It was just as well that, since then, the Deltas had only been given solo missions.

Boss checked the last hallway, using his sniper scope to zoom in on a control panel he'd caught sight of. The lights were all green, so he lowered his gun and turned back to join the others. Sev met up with him at the door.

"All clear on my side, sir," he said.

"Same here." He entered the room to see Scorch leaning against one wall, tossing and catching a thermal detonator with one hand. "Scorch, put that away. Fixer, how's it looking?"

"Just finished, sir. All systems are up. Testing screens now."

The wide-paneled screens flashed on above the desk.

"Excellent work," said General Fisto, and gestured to Advisor. "Will you be able to get the data transferred?"

The tactical coordinator sat down, flicking switches and setting controls with practiced ease. "Yes, sir. You guys get started."

The general hesitated. "We could end up some distance away from here."

"I'll lock the doors behind you." He tapped his blaster rifle, which rested against the chair. "I'll be fine, sir."

"Very well." General Fisto sounded uncertain.

Delta Thirty-Eight was a little hesitant himself, but they might very well need all four commandos to complete the mission, and Advisor would be able to see danger long before it arrived. "Run a comms check. General, we'll need everyone to have an open channel to Advisor's comms."

A moment later, Advisor nodded. "Alright, I've got everyone. Deltas, make sure you can reach the general without switching channels."

"Already done," said Sev.

The Jedi smiled again. "Let's get started, then!"

**All of my research has been done on Wookiepedia; I never actually found a copy of the comic with Plo Koon and Wolffe and Ozzel. If there are any inconsistencies, please let me know. And I'd love to know what you think of the story, if you'd be so kind as to leave a review! :) Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

Obi-Wan decided that crawling around in ventilation systems was something he spent entirely too much time doing. He shifted carefully, trying to stretch his cramped shoulders without making a sound as he crouched just out of sight behind a decorative grille that overlooked the throne room.

From what he could see, the room was large and lavishly decorated. The woven tapestries of brown and black complemented the natural shade of red sandstone that formed the walls, ceiling, and floor. Everything else seemed to be exquisitely hand-carved wood. He wondered who the castle had originally belonged to. Somehow, he just couldn't imagine Ventress going to the trouble to buy or select furnishings.

Speaking of whom . . . He drew back slightly, quickly drawing up mental shields to keep his presence in the Force hidden as a black-robed figure swept into the room.

"Greetings, General," she said.

"What took you so long, assassin?" The rasping voice of the cyborg filled the entire room.

"My master just contacted me. The Jedi will be coming here soon," she replied smoothly. "I cannot leave until the threat has been eliminated."

Obi-Wan frowned. How had Count Dooku known?

"What has that to do with me?" Grievous replied, clanking about the room. "You summoned me here with an emergency code for _nothing?!_"

"You have not been answering my master's summons."

"Count Dooku wants me here? He led the Jedi to my stronghold, and still he thinks he can demand my unquestioning obedience? I will not be manipulated!"

_Funny,_ thought Obi-Wan. _That's what the good general always does. There is no one more easy to manipulate than he. . ._

"The Jedi Council will most likely send Kenobi after me," said Ventress. "Here, in my stronghold, we would hold the advantage."

The clanking stopped. "I'm listening, assassin."

_Case in point_, Obi-Wan thought snidely.

"Take control of the droids in the lower levels. My spies reported a pair of robed men leaving the spacecraft this morning."

"You had better be right," Grievous told her. "I will do as you say – for now."

The two of them left the throne room, and Obi-Wan backed hurriedly away from the grate, clicking his comm. "Anakin? I'm afraid we're in a bit of trouble."

"Meaning what, exactly?"

"Ventress knows we're coming, and Grievous is heading for the basement."

"Lowering the shields," Anakin replied immediately. "Head for the courtyard?"

"Yes," said Obi-Wan. "We'll probably be discovered, but the men will need cover."

* * *

"Shield's down, sir!" exclaimed Oddball.

"Take us up," Cody replied immediately, running towards the cockpit. "Waxer, get on the guns, just in case. Snap, keep an eye on the scanners."  
"Yes, sir!" Both clones rushed to obey.

"Approaching the courtyard. Starting landing sequence."

Cody peered over Oddball's shoulder at the approaching turrets. "Is the code still transmitting?"

"Yes, sir. It seems to be working."

"Sir!" exclaimed Waxer. "Permission to blast Grievous' ship?"

It was tempting, Cody had to admit. Highly tempting. "Not yet," he said. "We can't let them know we're here till the generals give the word."

". . . Yes, sir."

Boil, standing next to Waxer, gave him a sympathetic look.

"Cody," the general's voice said. "What's your status?"

"Landing now, sir."

"Be extremely careful! Ventress is expecting us. We're on our way to you."

"Yes, sir." Cody lowered his wrist slowly, staring at the turrets just below them. "Sir, if the alarms get triggered, those guns are going to be a problem."

"Don't worry," General Skywalker's voice cut in. "They're automated turrets. I'll cause a distraction and get them to focus on me. You and your men spread out and take them down."

"General Skywalker's planning a distraction," said Cody as Oddball landed. "Better keep the shields up. Form up! No one stays on this ship until the guns are destroyed."

He entered the hold. "We've got eight supers in the courtyard and ten heavy turrets to destroy, Rex."

The captain stepped forward. "Jesse, Boomer, Fives, Echo. You're with me. The rest of you get to the wall and take out those supers."

Cody nodded. "Ghost, Switch, get to the castle doors and stay alert. Waxer, Boil, with me. Snap, take the rest of the men and help out the 501st."

* * *

"Anakin, I'm at the door," said Obi-Wan. "Where are you?"

"Across from the _Twilight."_

Well, that was informative. Obi-Wan closed his eyes, visualizing the courtyard. If the _Twilight _had landed right away when it crossed the wall, Anakin would be . . .

"Please tell me you're not near the fuel tanks."

"I'm not – not now, anyway," he replied, his voice breathless as though he were running for his life. There was an enormous explosion, and the ground shook.

Obi-Wan slapped the release switch and charged into the courtyard. "Anakin!"

A sudden pulse in the Force warned him a split second before a heavy laser slammed into the ground in front of him, spraying bits of stone in all directions. He flung himself to one side, igniting his lightsaber to block the next attack. "Cody! Get the turrets!"

Chaos erupted all around him, a surge of blaster fire and explosions and metallic clanking. Gathering the Force around him, Obi-Wan leaped to the top of the _Twilight_, and from there to the nearest turret, stabbing into it with all his strength. His lightsaber left glowing trails of molten metal behind it.

A small group of 501st clones sprinted through the turrets' field of fire, gathering at the base of the one next to Obi-Wan. "Rex!" he shouted. "I trust you brought grenades!"

"Yes, sir!" replied the captain, locating him immediately. "Where do you want them?"

"Right here."

"Is ten seconds enough?"

"It has to be! It's the only timer on those thermals!" he replied.  
Without further ado, the soldiers armed their grenades and flung them straight up into the air. Shutting off his saber, Obi-Wan caught the grenades in a force-grip, gently hovering one of them between every two turrets, not worrying about which ones were destroyed already and which ones weren't. As soon as the last one was in position, he made sure he had them in a firm grip before he flung himself off the top of his turret, and landed in a roll right next to Cody.

Before his commander could speak, Obi-Wan grabbed his arm and jerked him towards the relative cover of the pillar. Half an instant later, the grenades went off with an explosion of shrapnel and noise, showering everyone with metallic bits.

Obi-Wan stood, brushing off his shoulders. "They know we're here now," he said.

"That was useful," said Fives, sounding highly impressed by the rapid destruction of the turrets.

"Yeah," said Rex, holstering his pistols. He glanced at the twisted remains of the fuel tanks. "Kix, report. Anyone injured?"

"Not a scratch," the medic replied, jogging over to them. "General Skywalker took out the rest of the droids."

"Sir," said Cody suddenly. "Grievous' ship is gone."

"It looks like it was moved remotely," Oddball reported. "I was watching; no one went near it."

"Come on!" shouted Anakin, running into view. "We've got to get inside before they find us!"

The men followed him, Obi-Wan bringing up the rear, as they rushed for the 'door' he had cut into the storage building earlier. This was going better than he'd expected, although it was strange that neither Grievous nor Ventress had left the castle yet. Strange, and worrisome.

One by one, they ducked through the rough opening and to either side, flattening themselves against the wall until everyone was inside. The two Jedi lifted the stone section that had been removed and replaced it, and the men dragged crates and boxes to pile in front of it.

With the barricade built, the men spread out, silently scouting the remainder of the room. As soon as they were certain it was secure, they returned, standing at attention around the Jedi.

"What's the plan, General?" Rex asked.

"Good question," Anakin replied cheerfully, turning to Obi-Wan. "Master, I could always take my men and cause a distraction."

"To what end, Anakin? No, we need to formulate a plan. Ventress must know we're here by now."

"Yeah," he said. "But we can't just charge through the castle in search of her. And didn't you say something about Grievous heading for the basement?"

Obi-Wan frowned, tugging gently at his beard. "What we need to do is figure out a way to keep them from helping each other."

Cody stirred. "How many entrances does the basement have? Is it possible to barricade General Grievous in it?"

"Maybe," said Anakin, leaning back against the wall. "Trouble is, we don't know anything about this place – except for where the shield generator is. Was."

"And where the throne room is," said Obi-Wan. "But that doesn't help us. What we need is data."

The 501st sergeant, Boomer, snapped his rifle into ready position. "Just tell us where to go, sir."

Anakin suddenly turned to face the metal door across from him. "Master, I don't know about you, but I sense something approaching . . . Det, Flash, trap the door!"

"Right away, sir!" Two of the clones rushed to obey, while Jesse and Boomer covered them.

The two Jedi ran for the far corner of the room and began feeling along it with the Force. "We'll cut our way into the hall as soon as the explosives are triggered," Anakin called to his men. "Stay alert!"

Cody signaled for his men to split into two groups and flank the Jedi, while he activated all his scanners. "Sir!" he called, his eyes flicking back and forth between the various displays as they popped up on his HUD. "We've got droids inbound. Two lifeforms standing outside the door. The hall outside goes in two directions only. No rooms leading off them, as far as I can tell."

"Alright," his general replied. "If I remember correctly, we can get to the throne room by heading to the right. It seems all we can do at the moment is lead Ventress around and hope to outmaneuver her."

General Skywalker ignited his lightsaber. "You know, we could always attack her."

Flash and Det jogged back to the main group. "We've got a delay set on the trap, sirs," said Flash. "Should take out a lot of clankers."

Just as General Skywalker opened his mouth to reply, the door hissed open.

"Take cover!" shouted one of the clones, diving behind a pile of crates.

Cody ducked next to Wooley, readying his blaster. Four seconds later, a loud explosion shook the floor, and a battle droid's head sailed over them to hit the far wall with a desolate _clang._

The clones fired through the destroyed doorway, the focused lasers cutting down the remainder of the droids easily. The two supers that appeared only got off a couple of shots each before falling.

Cody ran a short-range scan. "The lifeforms are gone, but they weren't killed," he reported.

"That was _way_ too easy," Fives said, a note of suspicion entering his voice.

"Which is why we're not going through the door," said General Skywalker, his lightsaber cutting easily through the stone as he carved out a wide circle. "They've probably trapped it the same way we did."

**So - question is, why is Ventress not directly involved yet? And what were those two lifeforms? And is Anakin going to do something reckless and/or annoying to Obi-Wan pretty soon? Let me know what you think! :)**

**Also, I just wanted to thank all you readers for reading this story - I hadn't checked 'story stats' in a long time, but when I did yesterday it was pretty neat to see that there were readers from nineteen different countries! Amazing. ':D  
**


	8. Chapter 8

"If this is a castle," said Jesse as they crept along, "_where_ are all the people?"

"It's Ventress' castle," Kix joked. "Who would want to work for her?"

Rex half-turned, glancing over one shoulder at the hall behind them. "_I_ want to know where those two lifeforms disappeared to."

"There's the throne room," interrupted Snap in his blunt voice. "Maybe they're waiting for us."

General Skywalker leapt forward, covering a ridiculous amount of space with that one motion, and landed right outside the throne room door. "No one's in here," he said, then opened the door and strolled in. The others were forced to break into a run to catch up with him.

Cody found himself beside General Kenobi, who spoke without turning his head. "I don't like this. Whenever one is dealing with Ventress, and doesn't have trouble meeting his goal, it is only proof that she is setting a trap somewhere."

"This feels like Tebrin, sir," said Cody. His nerves were on edge, which was unusual enough in itself to make him even more nervous. He drew a quiet breath, held it for a few seconds, and exhaled slowly.

The general looked at him with realization dawning on his features. "Tebrin! Anakin, do you think – Anakin, don't touch that!"

Across the long hall, General Skywalker glanced up, his hand resting on the huge red throne.

A shrill beeping rang through the room, originating from the throne, and Cody caught the shortest glimpse of General Skywalker diving as far away as he could before the throne vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Before the thumping of stone hitting stone had quite ceased, Kix was sprinting across the room, the red medic sign on his shoulder flashing through the dust. "General Skywalker!" he called.

"I'm fine, Kix." General Skywalker sat up, his black clothes covered in a faint reddish powder. He sounded more disgusted than anything else.

General Kenobi seemed to feel the same way. "_Anakin," _he sighed.

"What?! How was I supposed to know she'd booby trap her own throne?"

"You could have sensed it, like I did," he suggested. "Well, this is the most defensible room we've discovered so far. Let's try to lure her in."

Cody glanced around the long hall. It had various chairs and tables scattered throughout, but, delicate as they were, they would provide no protection; if worst came to worst, they could feasibly be used as makeshift weapons. The center aisle, however, was lined with large and conveniently sturdy-looking pillars. Just behind what remained of the throne was a wide half-wall, presumably for decoration. "Rex," he said, pointing. "Get your men to cover. Ghost Company will provide support."

"Got it. Torrent Company, on me!"

"Longshot! Ghost! Get up to that platform behind the throne. Wooley, take three men and take up position near the main door. The rest of you take the other side."

Within seconds, the clones were in position and waiting – for what, Cody wasn't sure, but he knew it wouldn't be good. The two Jedi were speaking quietly, General Skywalker with his arms folded in an attitude of mild annoyance. The rest of the men looked tense, standing with their weapons pointed directly at the door.

"At ease," Cody called. "The generals will tell us when the attack is coming."

He activated his scanners again all the same, checking once again for the mysterious lifeforms. The generals hadn't sensed them the last time, and it was best to be prepared. If he could help it, there wouldn't be any more surprises on this mission.

* * *

Obi-Wan joined Anakin, who was waiting near the door. "Do you remember the trap Ventress set on Tebrin?"

Anakin looked at him pointedly. "Uh, which _one_? The mines in the fortress, the sabotaged cruiser, the droideka ambush, or the staged mob fight?"

"It wasn't staged." Obi-Wan shook his head, frowning. "That city was full of people who hated Jedi."

"And you think the same thing will happen here?" Anakin's tone was serious.

"Perhaps. Not immediately, though." He shook off his worry and cleared his mind, attempting to locate Ventress' Force-presence. When he had no success, he turned to Anakin. "Why don't you go out and see if you can lure Ventress back here?"

The young Knight flipped his lightsaber, caught it, and strode to the door, gesturing to his captain. "Hey, Rex. Come on, we're going to bait the trap."

Rex fell in immediately. "So, General. If this is the trap, I take it we're the bait?"

Anakin gave him a smirk. "Someone's got to do it."

He hit the release on the door just as Cody shouted, "General!"

Anakin and Rex turned to stare at him. The door sprang open behind them, and a lithe figure in black leapt into the room and gathered the Force in a sudden push that knocked them sprawling. Obi-Wan activated his lightsaber and leaped forward.

"Get back!" he shouted to the men. "She's a Nightsister!"

With startling swiftness, the grey-skinned woman ducked and side-stepped, avoiding his strikes. She jumped up and back, landing behind a startled trooper, and caught his arm in one hand, jerking it behind his back as she placed her forearm across his throat.

"Det!" shouted Jesse, taking a step forward.

"I only want to talk." Her throaty voice carried through the whole room. "Tell your men to back away, Jedi."

Obi-Wan glanced at Cody and nodded. The rest of the men took a couple of steps back, their weapons lowered.

"That's better." Her voice was a little higher than Ventress', but possessed the same arrogant drawl. "Now, Jedi. You will surrender."

Det jerked forward, and she tightened her grip, forcing him to his knees with unnatural strength. Her cool blue eyes fastened on Obi-Wan, confidently waiting.

"Tell me," he replied casually. "Where is Ventress? I expected her by now."

"Our mistress is occupied with more important matters."

"And here I thought we'd be able to speak with her again. How disappointing." He fastened his lightsaber to his belt and put his hands behind his back in a casual stance.

Anakin caught on quickly and stepped forward. "You think you can take on all of us, witch? Two Jedi and twenty men?"

"I only need a few." She gestured casually, and Det choked, one hand rising automatically to his throat. "Or I can just kill you all where you stand."

Across the room, Jesse and Kix started coughing and gagging. Anakin took a threatening step forward, and several of the clones half-reached for their weapons.

Obi-Wan felt his commander looking at him, and he signaled quickly. _Retreat, destroy, cover. _Then he reached out with the Force and touched their adversary's mind with as strong a thought as he could muster. _The Jedi have surrendered. _

She lowered her hand, loosening her grip on the prisoner at the same time, and Anakin grabbed Det in a Force-grip of his own and jerked him across the room to crash into Fives and Echo. The three of them went down in a heap.

"Obi-Wan!" shouted Anakin, lunging forward. "Get to Ventress. I'll handle this one!"

The men were already in motion, snatching their weapons from the floor. Fives and Namer dragged Kix and Jesse to their feet and towards the doors. Longshot and Ghost scrambled down from their platform, and Echo hung back, covering Waxer and Boil as they ran the length of the hall, flinging small detonators at the pillars.

"General Skywalker!" shouted Cody. "Signal us when you're ready!"

Anakin jumped back to avoid being slashed by the assassin's knives, and Rex fired a few shots in her direction. They didn't do much good, since Rex was trying to avoid hitting Anakin at the same time.

Obi-Wan shut his eyes, focusing again. Where was Ventress . . .? He lowered his mental shields, and caught a swift sense of surprise from her. She was moving towards him. _Good_.

"Cody," he said. "I'm going to find Ventress. You go with Anakin and barricade Grievous in the basement. Try not to engage him directly."

"Will do, General. Here – you'd better take this."

Obi-Wan took the linked detonator, an idea entering his mind. "Hmm." He leaned back into the room and shouted, "Anakin! New plan!"

"I'm – kind of – busy!"

The assassin was a whirlwind of motion, flipping and twisting every which way as she attacked. Anakin seemed hard-pressed to keep up with her.

"I'm detonating the explosives."

Anakin gasped out something that might have been a curse and gathered his strength. He broke away from his opponent and jumped, landed with one foot against a pillar, and launched himself into the air. When he was halfway to the door, Obi-Wan pressed the detonator.

The pillars, their bases blown into rubble, broke free of the ceiling and crashed to the floor. Anakin landed hard, rolling over several times as the doorway behind him was struck by a falling stone and disintegrated. Everyone stumbled at a secondary explosion, and Obi-Wan smirked in spite of himself. Another one of Ventress' traps must have been triggered. At last, the booming and thumping faded into reluctant silence, and Flash helped Anakin to his feet.

The young Jedi caught his breath, glaring at Obi-Wan. "You could have given me a little warning, you know," he said accusingly.

"I did," Obi-Wan said, not really paying attention. "Anakin, go with the men. I'll handle Ventress."

He watched the rest of the group leave, then hooked his lightsaber to his belt and touched the wall nearest him, every tremor of the castle magnified and analyzed through the Force. The ceiling of the throne room had completely collapsed, but the adjoining walls still stood firm.

Obi-Wan leaned his shoulders against the cool stone and waited. This mission was not going well, and he wasn't optimistic about his ability to capture Ventress by himself. Kill her, perhaps, but not capture her. He'd need Anakin for that, but he wasn't about to send his men against Grievous without a Jedi.

All he could do now was trust in the Force and hope that Ventress came to him.

* * *

The only sounds in the long hallway were the quiet clacking of armored boots and the almost inaudible hum of the pale lights overhead. It had been over three standard hours since the team had entered Grievous' fortress, and still they hadn't come across any enemies. Delta Thirty-Eight paused mid-step, turning to look over one shoulder. There had never been a mission where the team had gone unchallenged for this long, and he was getting a little on edge.

If he was on edge, Scorch was practically vibrating with nerves. Boss watched as the yellow-clad commando released the ammo pack from his gun, looked at it, and reloaded it for the fourth time in as many minutes.

Sev, standing next to Scorch, elbowed him hard. "Cut it out," he muttered. "You can't shoot if it's unloaded."

"It's just . . . it's weird," Scorch replied, gesturing around with his gun. "This whole place is weird. Did you see those statues?"

Fixer ducked slightly as Scorch's gun pointed at his head. "Watch it, Six-Two!"

Scorch snapped his gun back to ready position. "You can't tell me this isn't making even _you _nervous."

Sev tilted his head, looking almost contemplative. "Who were those statues of?"

"Who, or what?" murmured General Fisto.

Boss considered the image of Grievous that had showed up in the database. It _was_ hard to tell, from appearances alone, that the general wasn't simply a robot.

"General Grievous was a famed Kalee warrior," General Fisto said. "Those statues were of him in his younger days. . . before he became a cyborg and joined the Separatists."

"Huh," said Scorch. "He was even uglier back then."

General Fisto continued talking as they neared the end of the hall. "He is a clever warrior still, but single-minded. When he has some goal or desire fixed in his mind, he focuses only on that until he succeeds. Count Dooku can manipulate him sometimes, and when he can, the general is very useful to him." He glanced down the next hallway once before stepping into it. "But when the Count angers him – as he did during my last mission here – the general can become a great liability, both to the Separatists and to himself."

Boss wondered if the Republic could manage to exploit this fact in the near future.

"Delta Lead," said Advisor's voice in his ear. "Go to the end of the corridor and turn right. There will be a large pillar directly in front of you. That should be the last place on this level to wire."

"Roger that," he replied. "Are you picking up any activity yet?"

"No, but the central room of this level is locked down."

"We can look into it once we're done here. General?"

"A good idea," he said. "I suspect that's the room containing Grievous' spare replacement parts. We mustn't leave them . . . undamaged."

Scorch snickered.

They reached the pillar a moment later, and Sev and Scorch knelt on either side of it to place the explosives.

Fixer dropped back to join Boss. "I don't like this," he said under his breath. "It's been too long. There should be _something._"

"I'm sure we'll run into trouble sooner or later," he agreed. "Stay alert. We'll be ready when it comes."

Four-Oh shook his head slightly, still worried. "Yes, sir."

As he moved back to his position, Boss turned on his own scanners, even though he knew it was pointless – Advisor, with access to the whole fortress, would pick up trouble long before his own equipment could. But the general had said that there was danger here, and Thirty-Eight, despite his words to Fixer, was sure that something was wrong. The situation had all the makings of a trap.

"We're good here," said Scorch, getting to his feet.

"Excellent," said General Fisto. "Now we only have to wire two more levels."

_Only two more levels_, Boss thought. _Two completely unexplored levels. There could be anything there. _Aloud he said, "Let's hope Grievous left us some droids to fight."

**Bit of a longer chapter - I'm going to have to start writing faster, to keep ahead of the curve. :) I myself do not know what is on the lower two levels, though I do have some ideas. What do you guys think? I'd be glad to incorporate ideas; the only thing I know is _not _down there is another roggwart. **

**Also, it appears that Obi-Wan decided to be as reckless as Anakin, this time around. Detonating explosives like that. Really, Master Kenobi . . .**


	9. Chapter 9

Cody waited with his men while General Skywalker, his eyes closed, knelt in the center of the small anteroom. Outside was a short hall containing two archways that opened onto staircases. As far as the clones been able to find out, with the basic schematics that had available through the public computer terminal nearby, the two staircases were the only inside entrances to the basement.

Destroy the stairs, and hopefully Grievous would be trapped until the Jedi were back together and able to take him on. Cody wondered why they didn't just bring the ceiling down on the Separatist cyborg. The Republic probably wanted him alive. He took a moment to wonder how exactly 'alive' Grievous was before focusing on the mission again.

The explosives had been set quietly – the clones had used everything they had left, including grenades – but not activated. Not until the general gave the word.

Just then the Jedi shifted and opened his blue eyes with a faraway look.

"What's going on?" muttered Boil.

Waxer shrugged. "I dunno. General said he _sensed_ something."

"Yeah, but what?" Namer, one of the 501st veterans, asked, checking the outside hall for the third time.

"Doesn't matter, I guess," Jesse shrugged. "As long as it's not another one of those witches." He shuddered.

General Skywalker sprang to his feet, drawing and activating his lightsaber with a flick of his wrist. He sent a wry smile in the clones' direction. "Funny you should say that, Jesse. She's getting closer."

Jesse muttered something that sounded like a Huttese curse – according to Rex, the general had a lot of useful words in his vocabulary that the troopers picked up with surprising speed. Cody himself had never heard a Jedi speaking in an . . . _unrestrained _manner before, but he could more easily see General Skywalker losing his temper than any other Jedi he'd worked with.

General Kenobi, for example, spoke in a cultured tone, all the time, no matter what the circumstances: he even insulted and taunted enemies in a refined manner. General Koon never spoke excitedly or even quickly, and as for General Windu – Cody wondered if he knew how to get angry. General Fisto, with his odd and frequent smile, came to mind, and Cody wondered briefly how the mission to Grievous' old lair was going.

The young Jedi swung his glowing weapon and grinned. "Cody, let's see how well your men wired those stairs."  
"Yes, sir." Cody gestured to Wooley, who pressed the detonator with an obvious sense of satisfaction.

The explosion, mostly contained after the first flash of light and sound by the fall of debris and dust, was anticlimactic – the results were not. Cody and Gadget left the small room and checked the nearest staircase to find that it was full to the top of fallen masonry and huge blocks of stone. With a nod of satisfaction, Cody turned to Rex, who stood at the opposite end of the corridor with Det beside him.

Cody switched to the internal commlink. "How's it looking?"

Rex considered the former staircase. "Destroyed," he decided.

"Good work. Better get back here – the general said something about another bog witch nearby."

"Another one?" Rex headed towards the others, both pistols drawn. "I don't know about you, Commander, but to me, something about this whole mission feels off."

"Yeah." Cody watched Gadget as the younger clone fiddled with the small scanner he carried around everywhere. "What've you got, Gadget?"

"I'm picking up a lot of electronic signatures from the basement. . . several squads of droids, I think."

A hand landed on Cody's shoulder, and he jerked around in surprise. General Skywalker stood behind him, peering at Gadget's scanner, with a smug smile across his face. "Grievous won't blast himself out of this one," he said. "Well, that takes care of our part of the mission. Now, to find Obi-Wan."  
Cody felt as though he was several steps behind the general, and falling farther behind all the time. "Sir," he said. "Shouldn't we guard the entrances, in case Grievous gets through?"

"He won't," the Jedi declared confidently. "Not through here, anyway."

Automatically, the commander listed the mission objectives in his mind: trap Grievous, capture Grievous, capture Ventress, kill or capture the remaining Dathomirian witch, get back to the _Twilight _. . .

A sudden flash of brilliant blue made him jerk to the side as General Skywalker raced forward, his lightsaber blade missing Cody's neck by a calculated inch. He dodged around Rex and Det as a shadow dropped from the ceiling of the high-vaulted corridor behind them.

The men reacted instantly, pulling back and spreading out, ready to provide the Jedi with cover fire should the opportunity present itself. It was hard to keep track of the enemy, though; a shadowy mist seemed to surround her so that she looked like a blur, and Cody found himself blinking hard every few seconds in an attempt to keep his eyes focused.

"Keep the general covered," he said, lifting his rifle. "Fire the second you have a clear shot."

In all the missions on which the 501st and 212th had worked together, Cody had never seen the younger general pull back from a fight without significant arguing from his former master – or from Commander Tano, come to think of it. He shifted his aim, shaking his head slightly to clear his vision. No, even though it would be much quicker to let the clones distract her or shoot her, it wasn't likely that General Skywalker would break away from the fight,; still, as General Kenobi often said, "One can always hope."

_Of course_, he reflected, _the last time the general said that, he was talking about Dooku surrendering himself voluntarily . . ._

* * *

Ventress' trademark presence in the Force – resentful, bitter, and yet somehow slightly amused – manifested itself an instant before she appeared in front of Obi-Wan, her dark cloak trailing behind her.

"Obi-Wan," she purred, her hands resting on the curved hilts of her sabers. "I might have known it would be you."

"Ventress," he replied, moving into the first stance of Soresu. "How pleasant to see you again."

"Don't make a fool of yourself, Kenobi." She sauntered towards him, drawing her weapons and activating them. "You and I both know that we detest each other."

"My apologies for the disagreement, but it is not the Jedi way to 'detest' anyone."

She stared up at him, her pale blue eyes gleaming in the glow of her crossed red sabers for an instant before she struck. "Perhaps, but I am not a Jedi."

"How true _that _is." He blocked one blade, jumped over the second, and forced her toward the wall with a rapid sequence of blows. "Anyone who possesses your unique level of emotional instability could never be a Jedi."

"Which is why your self-righteous Council sent you to kill me."

"Actually, I intended to capture you. Have you considered surrendering?"

She let out a sharp cackle of laughter.

Even as he retorted, Obi-Wan knew something was wrong. He had encountered Ventress often enough that he knew her fighting style, the way she flung herself against her opponents recklessly and even foolishly. Now, however, she was holding back, toying with him, intentionally keeping him occupied.

_Why? So that Grievous can deal with the others easily? Or does she have a different plan? _A worrying thought struck him then. _Is Grievous even _in _the basement?_

He dodged an instant too late and winced at the sharp kick to the knee that he received. Leaping back to give himself some space, he activated his comm. "Anakin?"

"Your little pet won't be coming to help you," Ventress sneered, bringing one blade dangerously close to his face. "You're all mine, Obi-Wan."

He stepped back again, ignoring her taunt. "Anakin, Cody, if you can hear me, get back to the ship!"

Ventress laughed, and he lowered his wrist, turning to face her. Hopefully Anakin would escape whatever trap Dooku's apprentice had set, but either way, Obi-Wan knew he had done all he can. He also knew that he would have to try and bring Ventress to justice on his own.

_Marvelous._

* * *

Things were not going well. From what Cody could see, through the unnatural, smoky mist, General Skywalker's skillful fighting was barely a match for the assassin's whip-like use of her two knives. She fought with a speed and a level of gymnastic ability that Cody had only ever seen Jedi use – and those not very often.

He sighted down his rifle as the general stepped back again, giving way to the witch's vicious attacks. Letting out his breath, Cody squeezed the trigger, sending a quick salvo at her. She twisted and somersaulted, avoiding all five shots.

"Anakin, Cody, if you can hear me, get back to the ship!" General Kenobi's voice sounded faintly through the comms.

Cody watched as General Skywalker, either unhearing of uncaring of the order, rushed back into the fight without the slightest pause. He fired once more and spun on his heel. "Back to the ship, men! General Kenobi's orders!"

Most of the men jumped to obey, but some of the troopers – noticeably those from the 501st – seemed to hesitate, and he gestured sharply. "_Move _it, soldiers!"

He sympathized with their distaste for leaving a fight, but orders were orders, and the troopers were all but useless here. He watched, automatically keeping track of the men as they ran past him, until he and Rex were at the back of the line.

There was a sharp cry from General Skywalker, and they spun around.

The Jedi was staggering back, clutching at his left arm, but he saw the clones' looks and waved almost angrily for them to go. "I'm fine!"

As if to prove his point, he lunged forward, his lightsaber shearing through one of the witch's knife-handles. Simultaneously, he lifted one hand, flinging her back with the strange power of the Force. She struck the wall hard and crumpled to the floor, the mist seeming to fall with her so that it pooled on the floor in little tendrils.

Behind Cody, a flurry of blastershots sounded from both Republic and Separatist weapons.

"Droids!" someone shouted.

Cody's first impulse was to run toward the battle, but his second was to watch the scene in front of him; then he found he couldn't look away. Rex was half-turned in the direction of the new battle, but he had both his weapons pointed at the fallen witch.

_Strange_, thought Cody blankly. _What . . ._

The general strode toward the crumpled figure of his adversary, his lightsaber humming as he pointed it at her head. "Surrender," he demanded.

More laser fire from behind them. A shout of pain.

"Commander!" shouted someone – Snap, he thought. His voice crackled through the helmet's speakers. "Grievous is heading for the courtyard! _Commander!"_

_No, Grievous was supposed to be trapped in the basement. _Cody wondered briefly why he hadn't answered Snap.

There was a clatter as Rex dropped his guns. Cody felt a moment of mild surprise before his own weapon fell to the ground, his hands loosening without his consent.

The shooting behind him fell silent. He knew by the sound of the laser fire that his brothers had won. _Good, _he thought vaguely.

The black-clothed witch got slowly to her feet, her pale eyes flashing amidst the shadows. "You win . . . _Jedi_," she said, turning her knife hilt-outward and lifting it slowly towards him.

General Skywalker stared at her. He seemed mesmerized like the clones were, although he did not lower his lightsaber. He reached slowly for the knife.

As his fingers neared the hilt, the witch plunged the blade into her own chest.

Cody jerked in reaction. The mist swooped up, gathered around the still-upright witch, and rushed against the general, sending him staggering. The Dathomirian slumped to the ground, and the shadows vanished.

It felt as though a hand had loosened from around Cody's mind. He snatched up his weapon and ran toward General Skywalker, who was lying motionless. Even as he moved, he was finally registering what Snap had told him – Grievous was in the courtyard. Which meant he had access to the _Twilight. _

"Troopers!" he shouted. "Hold your position!"

Rex skidded to his knees, grabbing one of General Skywalker's arms and pulling it around his shoulders before leaning down to snatch the fallen lightsaber. Cody got on the general's other side, and they stood, running down the hall toward the rest of the men.

"What was _that?" _Rex demanded.

Cody shook his head. "No idea, but we've got other problems right now. Snap! Are you sure about Grievous?"

"Yes, sir. He didn't engage us, just ran for the main entrance."

"Any casualties?"

"No, sir."

Cody and Rex almost ran into the rest of the clones when they turned the corner at the end of the hall, and Rex stopped short. "Kix, get over here."

"Right here, sir." The medic ran up, pulling off his helmet. "What happened?"

"Some sort of energy, I think," said Cody, well aware that this was not in the least helpful. He transferred General Skywalker's heavily bleeding left arm to Kix and tapped his comm. "General Kenobi, are you there?"

"I'm heading to your position. What happened?"

"General Skywalker's been injured and Grievous is in the courtyard."

There was a moment of silence. "I take it he wasn't in the basement, then."

"No, sir."

"I'll be right there." The comm clicked, and Cody turned to look over the remainder of the men. Longshot had been injured, but the others seemed fine. There had only been a few droids, by the looks of things. He couldn't imagine why Grievous hadn't run down his men while he had the chance – with no Jedi there, the cyborg could easily have killed them. It would have been a delay of only seconds for Grievous, which must mean that whatever he had been hurrying to do had been more important.

_Not_ that Cody was complaining.

He knelt beside Longshot, placing a hand on his shoulder as Waxer patched up a laser burn that had gone straight through the soldier's left hand. "All right there, Longshot?" he asked.

"Yes, sir." Longshot shifted as Waxer sealed two bacta patches over either side of the injury. He tapped his weapon. "They didn't hit my gun hand. Too bad – for them."

"All set," Waxer announced cheerfully, reattaching the other's gauntlet. "Kix can take a look at it when he's through with the general."

"Nah, this is fine."

"I'll be the judge of that," said Kix, not looking up from where he was working on General Skywalker's arm.

"Come on," joked Trap, who had taken off his helmet, revealing the distinct, raised scar of a burn on his left cheek. The scar was mirrored on the opposite cheek by a blue tattooed line. "We've all been trained in battlefield care. You medics aren't the only ones who know how to patch up injuries."

Kix looked up slowly. "We're the only ones who can do it _properly_."

Jesse clapped the medic on the shoulder with a grin. "Don't worry about him," he told the somewhat confused 212th troopers. "He takes his duties . . . seriously."

"So should you," said Rex, descending from out of nowhere, helmet tucked in the crook of his arm. "We're in enemy territory, not the barracks! Check your weapons and prepare to move out!"

Everyone scrambled to obey, or at least to look busy – Cody had observed that most of them had already reloaded their guns, and he knew Rex knew it, too. He smirked at the captain as he removed his helmet, but his smile faded when he caught sight of General Skywalker, still lying prone on the ground.

Grievous had escaped the trap, if not the planet, and it didn't sound as though General Kenobi had been successful with Ventress. Rex's gaze followed his, and then the two commanding officers glanced at each other with the same thought reflecting from their eyes: this mission was not going well.

**And so the saga continues. . . Or something. :) Anyhow, Anakin is now in trouble, Obi-Wan is in trouble, and the clones are as well. I have the next section with Delta Squad written, and I'm debating whether to post it tonight; it would be a fairly short chapter, but if I add it to the next Rattatak section, it would be too long. So, drop a note (or review) and let me know if you want it tonight instead of Sunday. ':D**


	10. Chapter 10

Delta Thirty-Eight activated his HUD scanner, checking over the large room once more. Breach charges had been placed at intervals around the entire perimeter, enough to blow every one of Grievous' replacement parts into shrapnel. Scorch had wanted to use the 'bigger' explosives, until Boss had reminded him that they wanted the building to remain standing until they had left.

Fixer was kneeling near the door, linking the final charge to a timer. Boss stared at the central pillar for a moment, and at the face masks that lined it from floor to ceiling. The empty sockets of the masks seemed to stare hatefully back at him.

_Grievous._ The head of the clanker armies, proclaimed Jedi-killer, and the direct cause of death of over eighty commandos and countless troopers. For a brief moment, Boss found himself wishing that the cyborg had remained on Vassek III. He flipped his pistol in his right hand, aiming it directly between the mask's soulless eyes, before holstering it.

He'd save his shots for when he actually met Grievous.

Turning away, he checked on the others' positions. "Did you find the entrance to the lower levels?"

"Over here!" called the general cheerfully, coming into view around one of the storage racks. He tapped his lightsaber hilt. "It doesn't matter if we damage the lift; I'll cut our way through after."

Boss nodded. "Take cover, men!"

They left the room, Sev remaining behind for a moment to start the countdown before he ran out to join them.

Scorch leaned forward, presumably to see better, but Fixer hauled him back to the cover of the wall. "Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed?"

The explosion was not particularly loud, but it was still loud enough to cover up Scorch's grumbled response.

Advisor's voice cut in. "Those energy readings were high," he said dryly. "You think you used enough charges?"

Sev, at the room's entrance, leaned forward and prodded a twisted metallic limb with his gun. "Yes. Grievous won't be using any of this, sir."

"Good to hear," said General Fisto. "Is it safe to move into the room?"

"Just don't walk on any superheated metal," Advisor answered obviously. "Delta Lead, if you give me access to your HUD feeds, I might be able to get clearer readings on the lower levels."

"Go ahead," Boss said, transferring viewer access to Advisor's comm code. "You have a secure channel?"

"Locked down. . ."

His voice sounded preoccupied. Boss raised an eyebrow behind his helmet and asked, "Anything _particular _down there you've noticed?"

The response was immediate. "There are two ray shields – they're blocking two chambers that you might have to enter."

Boss held up his left fist. "Let's have a look at it," he ordered, as the other commandos gathered nearby.

Fixer pulled the datapad from his pack and flicked the screen on. The schematic of the second level showed up, two consecutive areas marked out in red.

"I can't tell what's _in _the rooms because the shields are over the ceiling, floors, and all four walls of both rooms," Advisor explained, sounding a little exasperated with his lack of knowledge.

The general leaned closer to the screen, the light reflecting in his large eyes. "Can the rooms be accessed through each other?"

"I can't tell for sure, sir."

Scorch pulled his helmet off for a better look, took the datapad from Fixer, and zoomed out, staring at the full schematic. "We shouldn't have to enter them," he said easily. "We'll just plant extra explosives under them on the lowest level."

Boss knew that the demolitions commandos had been given highly detailed training, but Scorch sure seemed to be guessing a lot. Or maybe he was just that good. Either way, there probably wasn't anything in either of those rooms that needed checking out.

"I wonder," said General Fisto musingly, and closed his eyes. "I sense that something dangerous is in those rooms. . ."

"What kind of something?" asked Sev, tilting his rifle and peering absently down its length. "Tripwires, or something we can kill?"

Fixer shifted. "A ray shield wouldn't be used to contain droids."

"Indeed." General Fisto frowned, his forehead creasing. "The last time we were here, we encountered a roggwart."

"That was on this level?" Boss checked.

"Yes. It was in the third room you wired. . . I presume Grievous had his droids dispose of the corpse." He seemed troubled, and Boss remembered that another Jedi Knight – the general's former padawan, Fixer had called him – had died here.

"If Delta Six-Two is right, you shouldn't have to enter those rooms at all," said Advisor. "I'll keep running scans, just in case. Be careful down there."

"You got it," said Scorch, hefting his blaster to his shoulder. "Let's go find some droids to kill."

**Okay, Siepie voted for posting sooner rather than later, so here y'all go! :) Question of the day - well, really, at every point where the Deltas show up: are they in character, for those of you who have played the video game? Thanks!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, to make up for the brevity of the last chapter, here's a significantly longer one. Also, the spell-check feature on FF seems to think that lightsaber is not a real word. I protest. :)**

Obi-Wan checked the hall behind him, almost expecting to hear the hum of lightsabers and to see the red flash of Ventress' blades descending. He thought back to the last moments of his battle with her, still trying to sort out what had happened. She was actually driving him back, and he was struggling to keep up with her wild swings and sudden attacks – then, there had been a surge of darkness in the Force, a _snap,_ and Anakin's presence at the edge of his mind had faded.

When he recovered from his instant's hesitation, Ventress was sprinting down the hall, away from him. She'd somehow escaped him, and his fruitless search for her had been interrupted by Cody's call.

The Jedi Master shook his head, attempting to collect his thoughts as he turned into a corridor scattered with droid parts. Stepping over a fallen B1, he followed the trail of destruction until he saw the clones. They jumped to attention as soon as they saw him, and he lifted a hand. Anakin was lying on the ground against one wall, one of the clones kneeling over him.

He had almost reached them when Cody materialized at his elbow. "General Skywalker's been stabilized, sir," he reported.

"Thank you, Cody. And the men?"

"We didn't lose anyone, sir." He paused. "I take it Ventress escaped?"

"Yes, she did." Obi-Wan tried to smooth the annoyance from his voice, but he knew he hadn't succeeded. He knelt beside Anakin, turning to the medic. "It's Kix, am I correct?"

"Yes, sir. General Skywalker's still unconscious, but not from any physical injury. My only guess is that it's Jedi-related." He repressed a faint smile. "I believe Commander Cody described it as 'some sort of energy'."

Cody cleared his throat ever so slightly. "General Skywalker was fighting another Dathomirian. She pretended to surrender, then stabbed herself. There was a burst of energy – I've never seen anything like it. I only saw the general had fallen after the shadows cleared."

The commander seemed uncomfortable with his own explanation – probably because he wasn't able to give precise information. Obi-Wan frowned, stroking his beard with one hand. "She must have been a Dark Acolyte," he said slowly. "And her death caused a release of force energy. I've read of such things, but I'd never seen it."

He got to his feet and glanced at the men, who were almost vibrating with readiness. There was still a mission to complete. "It seems that the best thing we can do now is get Anakin back to the ship. . . And hope Grievous isn't lying in ambush."

Kix and Jesse picked up Anakin between them.

Obi-Wan hefted his lightsaber. "All right," he said, raising his voice so as to be heard easily. "If we run into trouble, focus on the droids. I'll handle Grievous."

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

They reached the entrance to the castle without any trouble. Several of the clones muttered about the lack of enemies – Ghost claimed it 'didn't make sense', and Obi-Wan had to agree. Every time he'd dealt with Ventress in the past, he'd had to deal with ambush after ambush. She certainly wasn't going to let them walk out of here.

Then again, maybe she would. Maybe she knew they wouldn't leave the planet without attempting to capture her again. Or maybe she planned to wait until they left, then send fighters after them. Surely she knew they had no support on this mission.

Obi-Wan paused as they neared the main entrance. "Stay back," he said. "These might be trapped as well."

"Yes, sir." Cody halted beside him, alert as ever. Rex was on his other side, pistols drawn as though he expected trouble.

Obi-Wan sighed. Uncertainty would get him nowhere, and would, moreover, only give Ventress satisfaction – something he was determined not to give her. He stiffened his shoulders and held out one hand, focusing on the large doors. They ground open, dust falling from the top of the stone slabs as they moved, and the clones crowded to either side, the familiar clicking of guns and armor surrounding him. The courtyard was empty.

The Jedi Master frowned again, searching the area with his senses. Droids were hard to sense; he'd leave that to the clones' scanners, but Grievous –

"Grievous is on the ship," he said.

"Sir!" said an eager voice that he recognized as Echo's. "We could shoot the fuel tank and blow up the _Twilight_ with him on it."

Fives elbowed him, casting a wary glance at Anakin's unconscious form. "Do you _really _want to destroy the general's ship?"

Even with his helmet on, Echo managed to look confused. "But if Grievous is on it, now's our chance to get him. General Skywalker can always get another ship."

"You both have a point," Obi-Wan said, wondering, with private amusement, what Anakin would think of Echo's plan. "But I'd rather leave the ship undamaged, if at all possible. We still need a way to get out of here. Cody, are there any droids nearby?"

"Four on scanners, sir, also on the ship."

"They're probably MagnaGuards," Obi-Wan sniffed. "Very well. I'll lure them out."

He checked the area once more, then raced across the gritty stone toward the shuttle. As he neared it, he gathered his strength and jumped to the top of the ship, landing more heavily than was necessary against the reinforced durasteel.

He waited. Grievous would have heard that, and if he followed standard procedure, he'd send his droids out to investigate. As for Ventress, she was dangerously unstable and unpredictable, especially when she was upset. Where had she gone to?

Blasterfire erupted from the opened doorway, and Obi-Wan peered over the edge to see two MagnaGuards standing on the _Twilight's_ ramp, looking directly at him. One droid fell to the clones' lasers almost instantly, and the second swiveled its strangely-shaped head in their direction for a moment before leaping to the top of the ship, its electrostaff spinning to block the shots.

Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber. The droid might have survived being shot, but it had made a serious miscalculation in leaving itself unprotected from the Jedi. Most of the time, they simply weren't worth the credits. It took him perhaps half a second to slice the droid in half from behind. As it fell, he cut the head off for good measure – MagnaGuards always continued functioning long after they had any right to.

At his direction, the men positioned themselves across the courtyard, an equal distance away from both the castle and the _Twilight. _Anakin was still unresponsive, and Grievous had not appeared. Perhaps the good general had some plan that he and Ventress were coordinating. Obi-Wan rather thought that it was more likely that Grievous would simply come barging out of the ship and attack the troopers.

With this in mind, Obi-Wan hopped down to the extended wing, where he could watch the boarding ramp more easily. The harsh sun of Rattatak shone down, glinting off the gun at the end of the wing, and a sudden thought made his eyes widen.

The _Twilight's _launch codes were only known by Anakin, but Grievous might still manage to get the ship in the air, and if he did – well, Anakin and the troops wouldn't stand a chance against the laser cannons.

"To say nothing of the fact that we need this ship in order to get off-planet," Obi-Wan said aloud, in an irritated voice. He activated his comm even as he jumped from the wing to the ramp. "Cody, I'm going to have –"

The commander interrupted him. "Sir, two droids behind you!"

A sudden sense of danger swirled around him at the same time, and he ignited his lightsaber and jumped back. Grievous barreled out of the ship and rushed past him, shouting something angrily into his own commlink. Obi-Wan turned to chase him, but he was struck from behind by a sudden jolt of electricity that made his eyes blur and teeth jolt together painfully. He almost lost his balance, but recovered and twisted, blocking the two electrostaffs that were aimed at his face.

_And of course Anakin is still unconscious. . . _He sighed.

"Grievous!" he shouted, hoping the cyborg would hear him. "I never thought I'd see you run from a battle – Well," he added, with what he knew was an annoying laugh, "at least, not from a battle you hadn't already _lost_."

He leaped, twisted mid-air, drove his lightsaber through one droid's head, and ducked to pick up the crackling staff. "No answer, general? Aren't you feeling well?"

A harsh cough sounded behind him, followed by four consecutive _snap-hisses_ as the Separatist leader activated his lightsabers. "Kenobi," he said harshly. "I have better things to do than to deal with your attack on Dooku's assassin."

"Then, if I may be so bold, what are you doing here?" He flipped the electrostaff around to hold off the MagnaGuard and twisted to view Grievous.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" The cyborg laughed and jumped forward.

Their lightsabers slammed together with a vibrating hum, and Obi-Wan was just about to make a comment on the maturity, or lack thereof, of Grievous' response when his comm blinked three times – Cody's signal for 'clear'. He immediately jumped high into the air, landing some distance away. The concentrated fire of twenty clones landed against the unfortunate MagnaGuard's chest plate and it flopped over backwards.

Grievous coughed again, and Obi-Wan landed near him with a careless twirl of his blade. "And here I thought you and Ventress were allies," he said, tossing aside the electrostaff. "What's the matter, do you have somewhere more important to be?"

"One day I will kill you," Grievous promised, his two upper lightsabers spinning in a dangerously fast arc as he drew closer.

"So you have said before, and yet you always manage to fail." Despite his casual manner, Obi-Wan was intensely focused on the battle, knowing that something in the general's manner was off. . . Just like Ventress' had been earlier. Grievous was usually quite aggressive – up until the point where he knew he'd lost, of course. It was as though the cyborg was waiting for some signal, and again the thought of a trap came to mind.

There was a flicker of warning, the roar of an engine, and alarmed shouts of "Get down!" and "Take cover!" from the clones. Reacting instinctively, he threw himself into a sideways roll just as something zoomed over his head. The rush of air lifted clouds of sand and dust that sent him into a fit of uncontrollable coughing.

Grievous' fighter landed beside him, one of the feet settling right next to his hand, and he staggered upright, still coughing. A loud _clank_ informed him that the general was next to him just before a metallic foot kicked him hard in the chest, knocking him sprawling.

_This day just keeps getting better and better_, he groused as he skidded across the ground on his back.

Grievous grabbed onto the side of his fighter and flipped into it, the cockpit immediately sealing itself in place. Lasers spattered against the transparisteel, but did no damage. The ship lifted off and rotated mid-air to face the men.

The clones dove for cover against the wall as Grievous fired at them. A blast struck the ground between two of them, sending them flying, but the general did not press his attack. The fighter took off over the castle walls, zooming up and out of sight.

Obi-Wan, still sitting on the ground, clipped his lightsaber to his belt as three of the clones ran up.

"General, are you all right?" Boil asked, his helmet turning from one side to the other as he kept a sharp lookout on the courtyard.

Obi-Wan waved away Waxer's proffered hand and got up, confused and somewhat annoyed. "Except for the fact that Grievous escaped _again._" Brushing himself off, he started toward the rest of the men.

"Sorry about that, sir," said Oddball, falling into step. "Too bad we couldn't destroy his fighter earlier."

"Yes, well, never mind that now. I'm just as glad to have him gone, honestly." There was a tinge of warning in the Force still – a steady hum in the back of his mind that kept him alert. Something else was going to happen, but not quite yet.

Anakin, still slumped between Kix and Jesse, stirred abruptly. "What –" he muttered, opening his eyes blearily. He tried to stand, but his legs gave out beneath him.

"Take it easy," Kix said. "You'll be fine, sir."

Anakin blinked, apparently considering this statement. "Ow."

"Well, well, look who decided to wake up," said Obi-Wan. "How are you feeling?"

"The – she," Anakin shook his head and moved his hand from Jesse's shoulder to rub at his head. ". . . What _was _that?"

"A focused attack of dark energy, I expect. Let's get you back to the ship."

"Ship?" Anakin glanced around and his eyes widened. "Uh. . . What is going on?"

"Grievous has left, and I'm afraid we have to regroup."

Both Wooley and Gadget were limping badly by the time they entered the _Twilight_, and Obi-Wan knew that, whatever he planned next, he would be down several men. If Anakin recovered fully within the next few minutes, the two Jedi could go after Ventress again. Otherwise, though – perhaps it would be best if he tried to complete the mission on his own.

He moved back to the hold, thinking back over his duel with Ventress. She knew something he did not; that was for certain. . . And an uncomfortable nagging at the back of his mind told him that it not only had to do with the mission, but was very important.

* * *

Boss fixed his magnetic clamp to the wall of the shaft that General Fisto had cut open and jumped, keeping his cable tight so as not to slam into the opposite wall as he rappelled down, Sev beside him.

When he landed, he detached the cable and turned, moving forward a few paces to give the others room as he covered the large corridor that stretched out before him. Dim, flickering glowpanels on either side of the ceiling cast evenly spaced shadows down the high walls and across the floor, where they joined each other. At the far end was a mass of shadows that Boss did not like the looks of.

"It's a little dark in here. Switch visors to night vision," he ordered. As his HUD compensated for the lack of light, the shadows resolved into a large group – at least four squads' worth of inactive B1s.  
"Is that what I think it is?" Scorch asked, swapping his deecee attachment to an anti-armor one and loading a shell.

"Permission to destroy, sir," Sev said, already aiming.

Boss glanced at him sideways. "Fixer, do you have hostiles on sensors?"

"Negative, sir. No energy readings except for the ray shields."

The general hit the ground with a soft thud, his long head tentacles swaying as he straightened up beside the commandos. He quirked his eyebrows, apparently catching sight of the droids despite the low light. "Really, Grievous is making things too easy," he declared.

His lightsaber lit the area around him with a quavering green light as he moved forward at an easy run. As he neared the droids, he drew back his arm and _threw _his lightsaber. It spun through the air in a long arc, the humming blade neatly decapitating twelve droids before it returned to his hand.

"Not fair," Scorch muttered.

"Yeah. . ." Despite his agreement, Sev sounded impressed.

General Fisto stepped away from the droids. "They didn't activate even when I got near them," he reported needlessly as he returned. "They must have run out of power."

Boss watched him, mildly interested. The general apparently didn't see any reason to destroy the remainder of the droids, since they weren't an immediate threat. Powered or not, however, droids were droids.

"Scorch?" he said.

The younger commando adjusted his aim slightly and fired once. The shell landed exactly in the center of the group of droids. The dust drifted away, revealing that two droids were still left standing.

"Nice aim," said Sev, his low voice derisive. He lined up his shot in an instant and fired, taking out both with a single sniper round.

"That doesn't count," Scorch retorted illogically. "They were standing still."

The glowing visor of Sev's helmet focused on Scorch for a long moment before turning away in obvious disgust.

"Can it, Six-Two," said Fixer, who was staring at something on the floor beyond the droids. "I think there's some sort of low-spectrum beam –"

Before he could finish, Advisor's voice cut through, sharp and quick. "Deltas, listen up. The ray shields just shut off."

"Some of the debris must have been thrown through the beam," Fixer said.

Boss followed his gesture. Sure enough, there was a projector at the far end of the corridor, almost buried in the wall, and a faint, flickering line of light that stretched across to the other wall. "Advisor? Any intel on what's in those rooms?"

"You're not going to like this," Advisor replied. "Two large heat signatures."

Delta Thirty-Eight had learned, over the course of the few months that he'd been in the field, to be doubly on his guard when Advisor failed to provide specifics. _This could be a problem. _"Advisor. _How _large?"

"Rough estimate – four meters high. I can recalibrate one of the scanners for a biometric reading, but it'll take a few minutes."

"They seem to be asleep," said General Fisto suddenly. "Two different creatures, but unintelligent. I'll know if they wake up, don't worry."

The general's whole demeanor was calm and assured; he seemed perfectly confident in his own capabilities. Boss nodded at him. "Alright. Deltas, move out. Sev, Fixer, you take one side; Scorch and I'll take the other. . ."

He paused, glancing again at General Fisto, who was watching him attentively, his arms folded. His forearms, Boss noted curiously, were protected by standard trooper vambraces. "Further suggestions, sir?" he asked. _Giving the general orders would probably be a bad idea._

"I will scout out the central area," the Nautolan replied. "I still sense danger, but it is not immediate. Should either team need help –" He lifted one arm, tilting his commlink toward them. "I'll join you as quickly as possible."

They stiffened to attention, and he grinned before running swiftly down the hall, easily dodging around the crumpled droids. The commandos followed more slowly. On his way by the projector, Boss pulled out his pistol and shot it a few times.

At the end of the corridor, they separated, Boss and Scorch taking the right-hand branch – towards the two rooms, Boss noted, and hefted his rifle more securely.

Advisor guided them to the first position, and Boss knelt to place the charge while Scorch stood guard. He tapped absently through the familiar code set, still considering the lack of enemies. Double-checking to be sure the indicator lights were where they should be, he got to his feet and said, "First charge set."

"Right behind you, sir," Sev replied. "Two charges to go."

"Delta Lead, you have three more on your side," Advisor told him. "Assuming that Six-Two was correct about the placement."

Scorch snorted and fell in behind Boss. "Hey, you're talking to the demolitions _expert _here."  
"Fixer's the slicing expert," Advisor said. "And he doesn't always succeed."

The logic of this statement was apparently undeniable, even to Scorch's sense of professional pride, because he didn't reply. They reached the second pillar and Boss stood guard for Scorch. Advisor certainly was more chatty on this mission than he'd been on any other. He was probably a little nervous at being alone, with an unknown number of enemies nearby – because there _were _enemies nearby, if General Fisto was correct.

Boss narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. If something really happened, and the squad was too far away, Advisor would have to get himself out. He was a cool thinker, especially when the team was in a tight spot, but being in danger in the field was a lot different than guiding people out long-distance. Hopefully, he'd be up to the task.


	12. Chapter 12

**This is a 'bonus' posting, seeing as how it's Thanksgiving and all. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Or if you are in a different country or have celebrated the equivalent of Thanksgiving on a different date, have a happy day all the same! :)**

Anakin sat on the floor of the hold, his back against the cold metal of the _Twilight's _wall. The men were gathered nearby, waiting for Obi-Wan, Cody, and Oddball, who were currently in the cockpit, to return.

He shut his eyes, trying to focus his mind enough to clear it of the lingering wisps of confusion from the Dathomirian's attack, but they stubbornly remained. Trying a more physical approach, he shook his head, but it only ached worse, so he gave up and glanced around for some form of distraction. Most of the clones were in small groups, taking the brief chance they had for rest to eat and drink. Anakin considered following their example, but only for a moment. He really wasn't hungry enough to eat ration cubes.

Across from him, Rex was conversing with Namer, a clone whose hair was graying near the temples. Namer had been in the 501st longer than most of the others, and he was well known for his steady, calming demeanor. He'd been transferred to Torrent Company after the disastrous battle on Teth. Anakin knew that Rex often assigned rookies to his care, especially during their first battle.

Near the captain, Echo and Fives were trying to play a round of sabacc, but apparently half of the cards had been swiped. Fives accused Det of taking them so he could mark them; Det acidly suggested that Fives learn to count. Fives frowned, but cast a surreptitious glance at Echo, as though to ask, "Are you _sure _we counted right?"

Then Jesse came into the argument on Det's side. Trap suggested that someone else had taken the cards, and Switch asked if they were sure they'd had a full deck in the first place. Echo and Fives began to bicker about this, since Fives _was _sure and Echo wasn't. Anakin followed the increasingly heated argument with interest.

Finally, Sergeant Boomer got to his feet, a cup of water in his hand. He took a sip and stalked over to them. "Echo, Fives."

They jolted to attention. "Yes, sir!"

"Shut up."

They shut up.

Anakin's attention wandered again. He glanced at his chrono and wondered how long it was going to take Obi-Wan and Cody to check the cockpit for damage. They were concerned that Grievous had damaged or sabotaged one of the critical systems, or so Cody had said.

_Knowing Obi-Wan, they're probably just using Grievous' presence here as an excuse to check the _Twilight _for structure integrity, or something like that, _he thought uncharitably.

Wooley, who sat close by, shifted, slowly rotating his helmet in his hands. His forehead was creased, as though he were worried or displeased by something, and Anakin raised an eyebrow at him. "Hey, Wooley. What's up?"

Cody's sergeant looked back at him, his face the mask of blank professionalism that so many of the soldiers habitually employed. "Nothing, sir."

Anakin tilted his head back and huffed a silent laugh. "Nothing. Apart from the fact that this mission is going badly, you mean?"

The sergeant seemed to hesitate, choosing his words carefully. "Sorry, sir. It's just, I don't like the idea of staying on the ship while the rest of you are out fighting the Seps."

Well, Anakin could certainly sympathize there. "If it makes you feel any better, we'd need someone to guard the ship anyhow." He lowered his voice, sensing the approach of his old master. "Or so Obi-Wan always says when he doesn't want me to accompany him somewhere. He might even try it this time."

Wooley's face was impassive as ever, but there was a brief flash of amusement in his eyes as he turned to face the opening door. Anakin got to his feet.

"Alright, men," Obi-Wan called as he entered the hold. "Here's the situation: the _Twilight_ is unharmed, but our signal is being jammed. I couldn't reach the _Negotiator._ It should be possible to reach it once we leave the atmosphere, but we have no guarantee we'll be able to land again once we leave."

"So we're on our own," summarized Anakin, offering Wooley a hand up. "Don't sound so worried, Master. We've pulled off missions like this before."

Obi-Wan clasped his right elbow with his left hand, his free hand tugging at his beard. "I know, but the whole situation feels wrong. . . Still, it seems that if we intend to succeed, we have no other choice but to continue." He glanced around at the men. "I will find Ventress, and lure her back here."

Anakin strode forward. "Alright, let's go."

"Not you, Anakin. After all, _some_one needs to stay and guard the ship."

Wooley cleared his throat softly. "Sir, there _are_ twenty men here."

Cody shifted. "With all due respect, General, we've run into Ventress many times. I think our chances of success would be greater if you had others with you."

Obi-Wan looked back at Anakin, his cool blue eyes assessing. "Very well. I'll take my men with me – but I'd still rather you stay, Anakin."

"Fine," Anakin replied. "One Jedi in each team, and we'll catch her in the middle."

Cody stood at attention. "Two-Twelfth, form up! We're moving out!"

The uninjured men obeyed, snatching up blasters and helmets and packs and jogging swiftly out of the cargo hold. Obi-Wan followed them, and Cody stopped just before leaving the room. "Sergeant," he said, glancing at Wooley. "Oddball's up front, trying to get our ground comms back online."

"Yes, sir," said Wooley. "Gadget and I'll help him, sir."

"Good man." Cody nodded sharply and left the room.

The instant the door hissed shut, the blue-marked helmets of the 501st troopers turned as one in Anakin's direction. He smirked. "We need to lay a trap for Ventress. You boys think we can pull it off?"

Trap shrugged and shouldered his rifle. "It's in my name, sir."

"It'll be dangerous." Anakin, already at the door, hit the release switch and smirked back at them. "Well – more so than usual."

"That's what the Five-Oh-First does best, sir," said Jesse.

His captain drew one of his pistols and gestured casually with it. "Just tell us where you want us, General."

Several of the others added their agreement, and Anakin grinned. "Follow me."

* * *

Obi-Wan had thought that it would take a long time to find Ventress, but they'd only been in the castle for a few minutes when two red blades materialized from the shadows beneath a wide archway.

He pursed his lips and drew his own lightsaber, signaling Cody to position his troopers. Ventress had not attacked immediately, so it was time to move through the usual pre-battle routine again.

"So, you brought _reinforcements_," she called, a definite note of amusement in her tone. "Luminara's whole legion couldn't stop me. Do you think your little squad can?"

One of the men – Obi-Wan thought it was Boil – fired off a quick shot that she had to move quickly to deflect. The blue laser hit the ceiling above her, sending a fine drifting of dust down over her head.

"Stand down," snapped Cody.

Boil muttered an insincere apology.

There were a few reasons Obi-Wan had left Anakin behind – one of them being that he responded too easily to Ventress' prodding words and insults. He sent Boil a severe look. "It may be tempting to prove her wrong, but we can't afford mistakes."

". . . Sorry, sir."

It sounded as though Boil were sorry that he couldn't shoot at her, rather than sorry that he _had _shot at her. Obi-Wan felt the beginnings of a headache behind his eyes.

Ventress twirled her saber casually. "I thought you were here to capture me, Kenobi, but you don't seem to be succeeding."

"Oh, I think I would have – but you did leave our last little meeting prematurely, my sweet."

She hissed. "You were losing, old man."

"Shall we attempt a rematch, then?" He settled into his habitual ready stance. "I do look forward to seeing who the winner will be."

Her commlink flashed, indicating an incoming call, and she rolled her eyes, long eyelashes fluttering. "One moment, Kenobi. I have to take this."

He nodded politely. She turned away, her voice low as she replied, and Obi-Wan looked at Cody. "This won't be easy."

"Yes, sir." Cody seemed completely unconcerned.

"Set all blasters to stun. I'll occupy her. You'll have to watch closely, men; the instant her lightsabers are both trapped, shoot her."

"Good plan, sir." Cody turned the output of his rifle down without looking, his helmet still turned in Obi-Wan's direction. "General, if this works, we might not even need to lead her back to the _Twilight._"

An obvious fact, and one that didn't need stating, but Obi-Wan knew why he had said it. It was regrettable, but more often than not, Cody saw straight through Obi-Wan's carefully laid plans and the reasoning behind them. In fact, his ability to know what Obi-Wan was thinking was part of what made him such a good commander . . . and at the same time, made him someone who was ridiculously hard to fool when the need arose.

Obi-Wan looked around and saw that Ventress was still talking. "Yes, well," he said easily. "I still am not sure what that attack did to Anakin. His presence in the Force is clouded. . . He might feel fine, or say he does, but something's not right."

Instead of replying, Cody checked over his men before nodding in Ventress' direction. "Looks like she's finished, sir."

Obi-Wan was prepared. He stood ready, his balance easy, his lightsaber form flawless, his mind sharp and focused, all distractions cleared –

"Hope General Skywalker doesn't figure your reasoning out," Cody said casually, as though he were talking to himself.

Obi-Wan, his focus now broken, cast him an irked glance. "_Really, _commander."

He could easily sense the clones' amusement at his reaction even as he turned back to his opponent.

"Ventress," he called. "If you're quite finished chatting . . .? I do have other things to be doing."

There was a light in her pale eyes that he didn't like. She looked pleased, confident, as though she had somehow been assured of victory. He was missing something; something important, but there was nothing he could do about it but focus on the coming battle. He readied himself again.

She stared at the floor for a long moment, gathering herself, then sprang high into the air, corkscrewing down at him. The flashing blades of her sabers crossed, slamming into his horizontal block, and he had to take a step back to correct his balance.

Letting out a high-pitched cackle of laughter, she swung at him from both sides. He ducked under one blow, caught the second, twisted around it, and feinted at her head. As he had expected, she whipped around, inhumanly fast, and caught his blow on crossed blades. Obi-Wan was ready. With a sudden burst of Force-enhanced strength, he shoved her back against the corridor wall, his arms straining to keep her lightsabers trapped.

Blue bursts of light scattered across his vision, two bouncing off his blade and three hitting Ventress. She screeched in fury and blasted Obi-Wan against the opposite wall, but her anger could only sustain her for a second more before she collapsed midstride. Her lightsabers hit the ground and deactivated. Obi-Wan also hit the ground, landing at an awkward angle.

He propped himself up on his hands, checking first to see that she was truly unconscious and second to ensure hat his shoulder wasn't broken. "Well, _that _went better than I expected," he commented to the room at large.

"Put stun cuffs on her," Cody directed his men.

"Two sets," Obi-Wan added, getting stiffly up. "I'll take her weapons. Good work, troopers. Now, let's get back to the _Twilight_ and leave before anything else happens."

Just as he finished speaking, a sudden surge of alarm from the direction of the ship filled his mind, and he straightened abruptly, ignoring the loud crack his spine made.

"General?" said Cody.

"Something's already happened," Obi-Wan told him, breaking into a run. "Hurry!"

**Well, Anakin's back in the action, anyway. Any guesses as to what 'already happened'. . . ? :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Next chapter! Sorry it's late. I've reached the point in posting of 'no return', meaning that I haven't written beyond what I'm posting this morning. So, now, what happens next is a mystery to me even more than it is to you. Joy. Also, the story is exactly 66 pages long at this point. . . :D**

Captain Rex knelt in the shadow of the _Twilight, _keeping a sharp eye on the courtyard before him. Echo and Fives were beside him, their rifles propped against the ground while they waited. Echo fidgeted with his spare powerpack, and Fives' fingers tapped against his gunstock every few seconds. They still had the pre-battle jitters that so many of the shinies had, but that would pass with time and experience.

"Save it for the battle, troopers," he said.

They stilled immediately, and he gave them an approving nod just as General Skywalker came out of the ship. He wandered over and sat on the outstretched wing just behind them. "Oddball can't get through that jamming," he said, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "Should have brought Artoo with us."

Rex tapped his comms. Sometimes, even with jamming, it was possible to get short-distance signals, but a burst of static was all he got. It had been worth a shot, anyway. He clicked them off. "How do you want us to coordinate this, sir?"

"There's not much of a strategy this time." He tilted his head as though trying to hear something, then shrugged. "Jesse's up front, watching the doors. The minute he sees her, he'll call. We'll all attack at once. Hopefully that'll distract her enough for Obi-Wan's men to overpower her."

It wasn't a complicated plan. Run forward, shoot at enemy, avoid dying. Well, they'd had worse plans. . .

General Skywalker suddenly jolted upright, his lightsaber blade snapping into existence. "What –"

There was a shout of alarm from the opposite side of the ship, and a harsh crackling of electricity that nearly drowned out the ensuing yells. Rex sprinted forward and around the cockpit, dodging Jesse, who had also rushed in the direction of the alarm. The general passed them, his feet barely touching the ground as he moved.

He halted abruptly, and Rex almost slammed into him. A tall, black-clothed man with a pointed white beard stood before them, his red lightsaber pointed downward. Three clones, their armor sparking a little, were crumpled nearby – Boomer and Flash appeared to be unconscious. Trap moved slightly, caught sight of the blade humming just above his neck, and froze.

Count Dooku gazed down his aristocratic nose. "Skywalker," he greeted.

"Dooku," snarled the general, not quite keeping the surprise from his voice. "I should have guessed you'd be hiding out among the rest of the lawless scum in this city."

"But you did not." The count took a deliberate step forward. "I would have thought better of the 'Chosen One'."

Feeling a grim sense of futility, Rex lifted his pistols and prepared to fire.

General Skywalker lunged forward, slashing at the Sith lord's throat, and Dooku swatted his blow aside. They battled furiously, their weapons clashing and buzzing. Dooku moved fast but casually, unworried by the aggressive attacks, his cloak whipping out behind him.

There was a movement behind Dooku, and Rex noticed with relief that Boomer was conscious now. Flash still wasn't moving, but Trap had gotten to his hands and knees. He reached for his gun. Rex drew in a breath to yell at him, but fortunately Boomer saw Trap in time and stopped him.

"Fives, Echo," Rex ordered. "Go around the ship and get those three to safety. Do _not _engage Dooku."

They set off at a dead run, and he tapped Jesse on the shoulder, motioning him forward and to the left. They flanked the duelists, keeping a safe distance from them, and waited.

As with most battles involving two lightsaber wielders, there was no opportunity for the men to fire. In his first engagement with Ventress, back on Tebrin, Rex had fired at her directly and gotten a laser deflected into his arm for his trouble. It _had _been a stupid thing to do, he supposed, but standing by and doing nothing hadn't even occurred to him. After the battle, General Skywalker had made a point of informing the entire 501st that shooting at a Sith was usually bad for one's health.

Back on Kamino, during officer training, the experienced and widely respected Commander Colt had frequently stressed the importance of officers providing examples for their men. Rex wondered what his opinion about officers providing examples in stupidity would be. Probably unfavorable.

Fives and Echo reached the others. Keeping one eye on the battle, they dragged the injured troopers to their feet and left, guiding them around the ship's stern. Rex hoped that Kix and the others were still alright. Maybe they'd just had the good sense to not come charging into a battle where they could do no good.

General Skywalker was getting tired – his movements were slower and clumsier than before. Stepping back for a moment, he swung his lightsaber in a vicious overhanded blow, leaning into it to force Count Dooku back. The count smiled coldly and stepped to one side, deactivating his lightsaber. General Skywalker staggered. Dooku snatched at the blue weapon's hilt, twisting it from his loosened grasp.

Rex and Jesse fired at the count.

The Sith lord ducked, grabbed the general's head, and slammed it into his knee in the same motion. Then he stepped back and raised both hands. Rex's weapons were yanked from his grasp by invisible hands. Jesse clutched his own rifle so hard that he was jerked onto his knees.

The count sneered and brought his hands together, then up.

Rex had seen that movement before. He tried to dive out of the way, but it was too late. Those invisible hands had returned, lifting him, Jesse, and a limp General Skywalker into the air.

Jesse slumped a little. ". . . This is gonna hurt."

Rex glanced at the _Twilight _and winced in agreement.

Count Dooku jerked his hands to the side, and the three of them were flung through the air to slam into the durasteel plating of the _Twilight's_ hull. Rex only had time to register the impact before everything went black and silent.

* * *

In the shadowy hallways of Grievous' lair, Boss stood guard while Scorch set the last charge. Directly in front of him was a stone wall – the wall of one of the previously ray- shielded rooms. The door was probably on the adjacent side. No sound came from behind it, and Advisor had affirmed that the heat signatures inside were from biological, not mechanical, beings. He had not been able to tell whether or not the creatures were awake, or if they were hungry. Boss tilted his head, considering. If scanners couldn't tell them anything, maybe General Fisto's Jedi powers could.

"All done here," Scorch reported.

Boss nodded. "General, are the creatures still sleeping?"

There was a moment's pause. "They are either sleeping or sedated," the general replied. "I don't think we'll have trouble from them."

The comm clicked again. "Objectives completed, sir," said Fixer.

"Good work. Get yourselves back to the shaft. We'll meet up there."

"One moment, Fixer," said General Fisto suddenly, a note of urgency in his accented voice. "Wait for me to join you. There is something wrong."

In Delta Thirty-Eight's experience, 'something wrong' could mean anything from missing rations to an exploding battle cruiser. The general wouldn't be alarmed about rations, that was for sure. "Advisor," he said, setting off at a run. "What's their position?"

"They're – Oh-Seven, hold position. Something in front of you just activated. It looks like a pressure-triggered trap door."

Ah, yes. There had been something about trap doors and molten metal in the mission report. Boss reached the shaft corridor and headed past it. "Advisor?"

"Turn left at the next intersection and go to the end. Be careful. I'm reading a sudden transfer of power to this level."

"Can you trace it?"

"The energy readings indicate there's a power generator located below the third level. . . Cause of activation, unknown."

"It could be on some sort of timer," suggested Fixer.

There was a long moment of silence. Boss turned left and held out a hand, slowing Scorch down. "Watch it, Six-Two. There might be more of those trap doors."

"Yeah, let's avoid those," Scorch agreed.

"I don't see any more," Advisor said. "Deltas, proceed with extreme caution. All systems on your level are up and running."

Boss reached General Fisto and stopped. The general was examining the floor, and a short distance beyond the Nautolan were Fixer and Sev.

"Watch it, sir," said Sev, nodding to Boss. "The trap door's between us."

General Fisto held his hand over the floor and the trap door fell open with a loud _thud. _Sure enough, perhaps fifty feet below was a pit of white-hot, glowing metal. Sev leaned over to look at it and grunted. "Seventeen hundred degrees."

"Ouch," said Scorch.

Boss gestured to the ceiling. "Can you use your cables?"

Fixer eyed it suspiciously. "As long as there aren't any surprises waiting up there."

"Nothing on my scopes," said Advisor. He paused. "Delta Lead, I just located a timed –"

Sev and Fixer stepped back a few meters, took a running start, and fired their cables into the arched ceiling.

A flurry of lasers burst from the wall behind them.

Sev reacted instantly. Shortening his cable abruptly, he twisted and kicked off the wall, swinging over the lasers. The general soared into the air and landed at the edge of the opening in the floor, his lightsaber a whirl of green as he batted lasers away from Fixer. Boss stepped aside to let Fixer land and shot out two of the laser guns.

"It's LIVE, commandos!" hollered Scorch, flinging a thermal straight over General Fisto's head. It exploded against the wall and silenced the hidden guns immediately.

"That was different," said the general, deactivating his weapon with a smile.

"There was a failsafe connected to the trap door," said Advisor. "I'm guessing the lasers were to kill whoever hadn't fallen in."

"An improvement over the ones on the first level," General Fisto declared. "I suspect the third level will be the most dangerous."

Since the first and second levels hadn't been particularly dangerous, this might mean the third level would be easily manageable. Then again, perhaps General Grievous had moved all his droids down to the third level. Boss checked his ammo clip as he led the way back to the shaft. Droids could be easily killed. Huge creatures of unknown abilities could also be killed, but not necessarily as fast. At least those things, whatever they were, wouldn't be on the third level.

They reached the shaft and Boss waited while Sev and Scorch attached their cables and swung down.

"Those creatures," said the general suddenly. "They're waking up."

"As long as they're too big to fit in the access shaft, we won't have to deal with them," Boss said. "Once the charges are set, we'll climb straight up to the top and get out of here."

"I can't wait," said Fixer dryly, swinging down beside him.

They moved out of the way, and once more the general jumped down without the aid of a cable. "It will be good to get out of here," he agreed.

"Yeah," growled Sev. "There's nothing to shoot."

Scorch gestured at the dark room in front of them. "I don't know about you guys, but this place gives me the creeps."

**Well, the commandos have reached the third and last level without injury. Being commandos, they aren't happy about the lack of enemies; surely they must be pleased that they aren't all shot up, though? It's not like I can really ask them. . . As for Anakin, well, I think I've forgotten how many times he's been thrown to the ground or into something else so far. I'm not out to get him, it just happens. :)**

**Thank you to all my readers, followers, reviewers and favoriters! That last is indeed a thing. :D**


	14. Chapter 14

**This is a bit of a shorter chapter, but I did want to update relatively on time. :) **

Obi-Wan dashed down the entrance hall of Ventress' castle, his lightsaber clutched in one hand. Anakin's presence was once again gone from his mind. If he got back to the ship and found that Anakin had knocked himself out by hitting his head on a table or doorframe, Obi-Wan was going to be _extremely_ displeased.

With the clones at his heels, he raced into the courtyard. A dark presence loomed in the Force – Count Dooku had been here, and recently. First Ventress, then Grievous, and now Dooku? All they needed now was for Cad Bane to arrive and wreak havoc on what remained of the mission . . .

They rounded the front of the ship. Jesse was sprawled on his back, staring at the sky with a bemused look on his face. His helmet lay a few feet away. Rex was on his knees nearby, one hand uselessly pressed against his helmet.

"Where's Anakin?" asked Obi-Wan, glancing around.

The two clones looked around, then at each other. Jesse let out an exasperated huff and sat up slowly as Rex replied, "We – uh – don't know, sir."

Cody stepped up beside Obi-Wan. He didn't say anything, but stood at attention, obviously waiting for orders.

The situation was spiraling out of control. Obi-Wan took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and shut his eyes for a moment, thinking.

"All right," he said, his voice calm. He turned to Longshot and Ghost, who held Ventress by the arms, keeping her upright none too gently. "Take her to the cargo hold and secure her. I'll join you in a moment. Cody, Rex, set a guard and then report to me. We need to regroup."

They obeyed hurriedly, and Obi-Wan entered the _Twilight._ Kix met him at the door and cast a critical gaze over him. "Sprain your shoulder, sir?" he asked.

"Just a bruise." Obi-Wan appreciated the medic's devotion to his work, but he simply didn't have time at the moment, despite the fact that he really could use a muscle relaxant right now. "How are the men?"

"Boomer was hit pretty hard, sir – not sure what that Sith lightning is, but it packs a wallop. Flash and Trap were hit too, but not as bad. If you're all set here, I'm going to head back to the hold and give the prisoner a sedative."

"Good idea," said Obi-Wan. "Give her something that'll keep her asleep for at least an hour. I take it Wooley and Oddball are still in the cockpit?"

"Yes, sir. They haven't broken through the jamming yet, but they're working at it."

As Kix left, footsteps sounded on the ramp behind Obi-Wan, and he moved further into the ship to let the clones enter. Rex and Cody came to a halt in front of him and saluted, moving in perfect synchronization as usual. "Perimeter is secure, sir," Cody reported.

"Very good," he replied, half-sitting against a supply crate. "We now have a decision to make. Our mission objective has been completed, but it seems that Count Dooku has _somehow_ managed to capture Anakin. I don't suppose you noticed anything unusual, Captain?"

"Yes, sir," said Rex. "The general moved slower than usual. Count Dooku managed to take his lightsaber before knocking him unconscious."

Obi-Wan tugged his beard a little harder than usual. "That's . . . not good," he pointed out, disregarding the blatant obviousness of this statement.

"No, sir," Rex deadpanned.

Obi-Wan paced across the small room, thoughtfully considering. He stared at the wall for a long moment before coming to a decision. "I will have to find some way to rescue Anakin. Still, we did manage to accomplish the mission objective. You men should take the _Twilight _and get Ventress safely to the _Negotiator._"

He turned in time to catch Cody giving Rex a sideways, questioning look. The captain managed to look doubtfully back without changing his expression. It was unusual for Obi-Wan's orders to be met with silence; he raised an interested eyebrow and waited.

"General, once we leave the atmosphere and re-establish comms, it'll be an hour before the _Negotiator _joins us," said Cody.

"I'm sure you'll be able to keep busy for the duration," Obi-Wan replied cheerfully, collecting his robe and a small holdout blaster from alocker.

Rex stepped forward. "Respectfully, sir – the 501st can handle a lot, but Ventress isn't going to let herself be held prisoner. She'll likely find a way to escape before the_ Negotiator _can reach us."

Obi-Wan attached Ventress' lightsabers to his own belt and covered them with his robe as he considered. Kix would give her a strong sedative, but there were techniques that Force-users could employ to quickly render toxins or sedatives powerless. Even without lightsabers, she was dangerous – lethally so. Hadn't she sabotaged an entire cruiser less than a week before, and escaped without so much as a scratch?

And yet, it would be foolish to keep the _Twilight _here. What if Dooku staged a rescue for Ventress? What if Grievous came back? What if Dooku was simply using Anakin as bait, and trying to lead Obi-Wan into a trap?

He straightened, glancing at the two officers in front of him. Regardless of the many enemies they faced, he knew that he had to decide. Every second spent in wavering was a second wasted.

"Cody," he said. "Do you have civilian clothes?"

"Just fatigues, sir."

"They'll be better than the armor," Obi-Wan replied. "Here's the plan. I'm going to look for Anakin, and you are going to follow at a distance. Dooku will be watching for me."

"Yes, sir."

"If everything goes well, we'll be back here shortly." Obi-Wan fixed him with a calculating gaze. "However, in the event that I am captured, you are to return here _immediately_ and take charge of the mission. Ventress must be returned to Coruscant. You will have to report to the Council and they can organize a rescue."

"Understood, sir," said Cody. He saluted and left immediately.

Obi-Wan turned to Rex. "Until Cody or I returns, you're in command. Keep a sharp eye on the prisoner and on your surroundings."

"Yes, sir," said Rex. "We'll be fine, sir. Ventress might be able to use the Force, but I figure if stun lasers work on General Skywalker, they'll work on her." He tapped his right-hand pistol with a forefinger and left to check on the men.

As Obi-Wan waited for Cody's return, he realized two things – first, that Rex had, a moment ago, hinted that it was too dangerous to leave Ventress without a Jedi as a guard; and second, that now Rex seemed quite confident about handling the prisoner himself.

These two apparently conflicting statements brought him to the inevitable conclusion that he had been manipulated. Obi-Wan rubbed at his nose thoughtfully. In his experience, clone officers tended to emulate the habits of their generals; Anakin had certainly never been accused of subtlety, and Rex had followed his lead. So had Ahsoka, come to think of it. They, along with the entire 501st, rushed into battle against overwhelming numbers with cocky bravado, as though defeat were unimaginable.

Cody, on the other hand, worked closely with Obi-Wan; he'd watched as terms of surrender were discussed, as treaties were drawn up and altered, and as Obi-Wan talked his way out of more than one inconvenient situation. It was very likely that Rex was learning from one or both of them. Setting aside this admittedly concerning line of thought, Obi-Wan looked up as his commander approached, dressed in the grey fatigues that all clones wore when off-duty.

Obi-Wan moved quickly out of the ship and towards the wall. They would need to enter the city, and trust to his senses in order to find Anakin – or Count Dooku. Cody moved close behind him, his gun at the ready.

"Try to move more casually," Obi-Wan said as they reached the gate. "Anything or anyone who looks official or professional is looked on with suspicion here. You have to be careful not to draw attention."

"Yes, General." He put his blaster in its sheath. "I think the uniform might look too official as it is."

"Yes, but it will still draw less notice than armor. I should make sure to have an extra cloak on hand next time." Hopefully there wouldn't _be _a next time, but one could never be too prepared. As this mission was proving time and again.

"I'd rather be able to move than remain unnoticed," said Cody with a smirk.

"It's easier than it looks." With that, Obi-Wan slipped out into the road, making a mental note never to tell Cody about the first mission he'd gone on with his master. They had just left a meeting with the planetary officials when Obi-Wan had tripped on the edge of his traditional, floor-length Jedi robe, and then stumbled again when trying to regain his balance. Master Qui-Gon had said nothing, though his mouth had given a suspicious twitch as he led the way back to their quarters.

Smiling a little at the memory, he moved farther into the city, Cody trailing fifty meters behind him. His mind caught the faintest sense of Anakin's general direction, and he turned onto a wide street that led toward a massive, fully enclosed building. At least he was still on the planet's surface. That would make a rescue much easier.

**Ah, the irony of Obi-Wan thinking that Anakin is more reckless than he. . . Sometimes I think Obi-Wan's more reckless, but just in different ways. Anyone have any idea what that huge building is . . . ? :)**


	15. Chapter 15

Anakin woke with a start, alarm ringing through his head. Dooku had taken his lightsaber! He jumped to his feet, lost his balance, and staggered back against a cold wall, where he leaned unsteadily. His eyes didn't seem to be focusing properly.

He blinked hard and opened them again. Grey filled his vision. Grey walls, grey floor, grey ceiling – the only light came from a flickering yellow glowpanel, just outside the barred door. His face felt tight, and when he brushed at it, he realized that the lower half was covered in dried blood. His nose, when he felt it, was not broken, but it hurt as much as if it had been.

Groaning, he rubbed his forehead and realized that his hands were locked together with handcuffs. Great. He was a prisoner of Dooku – _again_ – and he didn't know where he was, or where his enemy was. He attempted to reach out and locate Dooku, but his mind felt like it was made of cobwebs. Shaking his head didn't help. There must be something about the cell that was blocking his Force abilities. Or – that Dathomirian, and the dark, shadowy fog. He was probably suffering residual effects from whatever _that _had been.

Since there was nothing else to do, Anakin pounded on the door a few times, tried to remove his handcuffs, which were electronically locked, and paced. As time passed and he grew more irritated, he added muttering to his repertoire of things to do.

"How did Dooku beat me that fast?" he groused. He turned on his heel, jerking at the cuffs again, before remembering that Rex and Jesse had been with him. "Huh. Maybe they're in the next cell."

He hoped they were, because if they weren't, they were dead. Dooku didn't leave enemies alive – though he could have killed Sergeant Boomer and the other two, and he hadn't. And what about Obi-Wan and the others? If everything had gone well, they'd have caught Ventress and left the planet. Which meant he'd have to find a way out of here himself. Maybe there was a guard he could grab.

When he peered through the bars, however, the only person in sight was at the far end of the hall, well out of reach – an orange-skinned Twi'lek with black tattoos on his forehead and lower neck. Nothing near the door was of any use. There was a control panel, which he couldn't reach; and a data port, which he could reach but which wouldn't be of any use unless he had some computer spikes.

He paced a bit more. If Obi-Wan had been here, he would be telling Anakin to sit down and be quiet. Anakin ignored the imagined advice for a while, but soon he realized that he'd need to save his energy if he wanted to escape.

No sooner had he slumped down against the back corner of the room, where he could easily watch the door, then there was the loud thumping of a door slamming open, and a muttered conversation. His interest piqued, he crept to the door and looked out.

Two figures – a Weequay and a Rodian – propped up a human in drab clothes between them as they spoke to the orange man.

They seemed to disagree for a moment before the Twi'lek spoke with a strong accent, gesturing towards Anakin's cell. "Put him with the other. They'll be easier to watch that way, no?"

The Weequay grunted. Anakin ducked back against the wall, waiting tensely as the footsteps drew nearer. If he timed it just right –

The door hissed open. Anakin jumped forward, his hands smashing into the Rodian's face. As the short alien staggered back, he spun to face the Weequay, who had dropped his prisoner and was grabbing for a gun. Anakin lashed out once, twice, darted out of the path of a hastily fired shot, spun on his heel, and kicked him squarely in the head. Another swift kick put the Rodian flat on his back.

Anakin snatched at the gun.

A hard blow connected with his chest, knocking him backwards into the cell. He sat up with a gasp.

"Not so fast, my Jedi friend," said the Twi'lek easily, kicking the Rodian's arm out of the door and pressing a button on the small remote. A ray shield filled the doorway. "The Count wants you here, and here you shall stay."

The red shield buzzed tauntingly. Enraged, Anakin slammed his fists into it. A jolt of electricity made him stagger. The Weequay and the Rodian had gotten up and were glaring at him, but the Twi'lek waved them away. After they had stomped off, the orange alien glanced back at him.

"Who _are _you?" Anakin growled, furious at having been stopped so close to his escape.

"Does it make a difference?"

"Yes, actually, it does." Anakin smiled unpleasantly. "I wouldn't want to go after the wrong Twi'lek when I get out of here."

"Ah. In that case, since there are _so _many orange Twi'leks around. . ."

Anakin rolled his eyes.

"My name is Tar Saresh. I am in charge of the Cauldron. Now, step back toward the wall."

Anakin stared at him. "What's the Cauldron?"

"You're in it. Wall, now." He tapped his remote. "Unless you want me to shock you into oblivion first."

"No, thanks all the same." Anakin walked to the far wall and waited, readying himself to jump the instant the shield was deactivated.

Tar Saresh shook his head at him as though disappointed. "I'm not so foolish as that, Skywalker."

"I – what?"

Anakin's arms were jerked up abruptly, his handcuffs attaching magnetically to the wall. The shield was deactivated, and the Twi'lek grabbed the unconscious prisoner by his wrists and dragged him in. With a smile that showed his pointed teeth, Tar Saresh left. The door shut, and the shield flickered on just outside it.

"Wait!" shouted Anakin.

Tar Saresh paused, glancing over his shoulder. "Yes?"

"Can you at least detach these cuffs from the wall?" Anakin hated to beg, but his shoulders were already aching from the strain, and he knew he'd be incapable of moving his arms in a very short time. And there was another prisoner to consider now. He peered at the crumpled form across from him, but the light was too dim to see much.

"I suppose I could," the Twi'lek replied. "It is true that the Count won't be pleased if you aren't useful to him."

"What is this, some sort of slaver camp?"

"If it were, you'd be in processing." His teeth glinted again. "And trust me, that would be much less . . . pleasant. Not that you'd know about that."

"I would, actually," snapped Anakin. "What does Dooku want me for?"

"Something that he thinks of as important, I would presume." With that useless bit of information, he left, clicking the remote so that Anakin's arms were freed from the wall.

Anakin flexed his shoulders and moved over to the prisoner. "You can wake up now," he said, rolling the man onto his back. "I –" The light fell on his face, and Anakin stared at the man's familiar scar. "How'd _you _end up here?"

"What –" Hazy eyes stared back at him for a moment before a flash of recognition cleared them. "General Skywalker?"

"Yeah, it's me. Maybe you can tell me what's going on here."

Cody sat up slowly, leaning against the wall as he glanced around the room. "Where are we, sir?"

"The Cauldron, whatever that is." Anakin sat back on his heels. "I know Dooku captured me, but what about you? Where's Obi-Wan?"

"I don't know, sir. He was looking for you. I was trailing him, and he'd just entered a large building –" Cody shook his head a little. "It must have been a stun shot."

"You can't have been out for very long, then," said Anakin. "You don't feel drugged or anything?"

"No, sir."

"So you must have been out for three or four minutes." Anakin frowned. "I wonder if we're in that building you were talking about. Is it pretty close to the castle?"

"Yes, sir. It's long, but not very tall. I'm guessing it's a lot bigger on the inside than the outside. I noticed steps leading down from the ground level."

"I know which one you're talking about," said Anakin. "I saw it on the way in. Good."

"How does that help us, sir?"

Anakin shrugged. "If we're right, we'll at least know which way to run when we get out. I suppose they searched you?"  
Cody got to his feet and checked. "Looks like it. No gun or ammo. Not that it would do any good against that shield."

"No, but we might have been able to get through these," said Anakin, glancing at his cuffs in disgust. Feeling suddenly weary, he slumped against the wall. "Did you get Ventress?"

"Yes, sir. She's in the ship, heavily sedated. Captain Rex is keeping an eye on her."

Anakin stared. "Ventress is still on the planet?"

Cody glanced sideways at him. "General Kenobi wanted us to leave, but we managed to convince him that it would be a bad idea."

"Why?" exclaimed Anakin. "Ventress is too dangerous to leave without a Jedi, he should know that. He could have come back later!"

"No, sir; he wanted _us _to leave. He was going to stay alone."

"Oh," said Anakin, placated. "Well, good job, then. . . But I still don't like the idea of your men on that ship with Ventress. And we still don't know where Grievous went. I don't know about you, Cody, but I have a _bad _feeling about this."

Cody nodded once. "What are your orders, general?"

"Well, for starters, let's try to figure out some way to get out of here before this whole mission goes to pieces."

The look that Cody gave him clearly insinuated that the mission had already gone to pieces, but all he said aloud was, "Yes, general. Any ideas?"

"No, that's why I wanted to try to figure out some." Anakin rubbed at his forehead in exasperation and bumped his sore nose. He winced. "And in case you were going to suggest using the Force, I don't think that's going to work right now."

There was a moment's silence before Cody spoke. "General Kenobi said something about your presence in the Force being clouded."

"Yeah, I'll bet," said Anakin. "It'll probably go away with time. But even if I had it – I don't know what I could do with it at the moment. There's a data port outside, but I can't manipulate data with the Force."

"A data port, sir?" said Cody. He glanced at the ray shield.

"It's inside the shield, outside the door," Anakin said, getting up and glancing out the bars again. Tar Saresh was still at the far end, working on a computer. "You know, if I had a straight piece of metal, I could try to short out the system using the ray shield's power."

"If the shield runs off the same system, that would shut it down too," said Cody.

"Exactly." Anakin looked around. "I don't see any straight metal pieces, do you?"

Cody hesitated. "The only metal in here is in those cuffs, sir – or in your hand."

Anakin blinked at him, then considered his right hand for a moment. "I hadn't thought of that," he admitted. "I'll have to touch the port and the shield at the same time."

"General," said Cody, standing up before Anakin could poke his hand out through the bars. "What if it shorts out your prosthetic as well?"

"Well, if you take care of the guard, that won't matter. . . unless it knocks me out, of course. . . Huh. I guess you're right." Anakin leaned back against the opposite wall and slid down to the ground. "Well, unless one of us thinks up something else, it looks like we're stuck until Obi-Wan gets here."

"Yes, sir."

Several long minutes passed, during which neither man moved. Finally Anakin sighed, bored with the lack of activity. "Hey, Cody, you've piloted a lot. Have you ever thought about what kind of upgrades you'd pick for a Delta-7 if you could pick any you wanted?"

The commander's eyebrow went up. "I thought the last set of upgrades you did on General Kenobi's ship worked very well, sir."

Honestly, Cody could be so boring at times. But the word 'Delta' had called something else to Anakin's mind. "I wonder if General Fisto and the commandos have finished their mission yet."

"If they have, Rex isn't going to like it." Cody smirked. "Commandos don't forget easily – not when their skill is called into question."

Anakin chuckled. "I have a feeling I won't hear the end of it from General Fisto, either. He's not as uptight as most of the Jedi Masters. I'm probably going to find myself fixing or upgrading his R6 unit next time I'm on Coruscant."

A step sounded in the hall, and Cody turned as Anakin got to his feet. Count Dooku stood just outside, gazing imperiously at them. "Skywalker," he said, nodding by way of a greeting. "Commander."

"What do you want?" demanded Anakin.

"For the moment, I simply need evidence of your incarceration." The Count held up a holorecorder and clicked it. Then, without so much as another glance, he left.

Anakin stepped up to the door, Cody beside him, and they watched as he handed the device to the Twi'lek.

"See that this is broadcast along with my message," he ordered.

"Of course, Count." Tar Saresh tapped it thoughtfully. "Is your plan still the same for those two?"

Count Dooku looked displeased. "Be assured that I will notify you if it changes."

"And the others? Can I send my men for them?"

Anakin and Cody shared a concerned glance.

"I have not forgotten my promise, Tar Saresh," the Count said warningly. "I'd rather that you killed them, but if you must take them, get rid of them tonight."

As he swept out of the room, a Weequay entered. "What are your orders, boss?"

"It's time to move in. Stun batons and lasers only, Cal. I don't like dealing with damaged merchandise."

Anakin struck the wall. "They _are _slavers," he hissed.

Beside him, Cody shifted. "Do you think they're talking about the _Twilight, _General?"

"Yes. I do. And we've got no way of warning them." He ground his teeth, glancing around the small room. "We'll have to wait for Obi-Wan – if he can get here."

**I haven't seen many fics with Anakin and Cody working together (if you know of really good ones, I'd love to hear about them!), so one of the things that I wanted to put in here was a part with - you guessed it - Anakin and Cody working together. :) My main focus is that their characters ring true, so as always, if you notice something that seems inconsistent, please let me know! :) **


	16. Chapter 16

Obi-Wan stood in one corner of a massive room, his arms folded as he lounged against the wall, his hood well over his face. One advantage of places like this was that no one questioned anyone else – not unless one was looking for trouble. Rattatak was rather like Mos Eisley in that respect, except that there was a whole planet of crime, rather than one city of it.

He glanced again at the open main door of the structure. It had been nearly three minutes, and still Cody hadn't joined him. He must have been delayed. Obi-Wan decided to wait. Surely clandestine meetings were a normality around here; no one would be suspicious of a robed smuggler meeting a contact.

Not that Cody looked like the kind of person who would be in a place like this, which was a little odd when one considered that Jango Fett had been the most notorious bounty hunter in known space. . . Then again, the robes that he himself wore weren't exactly commonplace, either. Obi-Wan cast a glance at the blinking red chronometer on the far wall and set himself to studying the large room. Anakin was here, he was certain of it.

The entire building was taken up by a single room. A wide corridor ran around the outside of the room, and in the center of it, extending perhaps twenty meters down, was an immense pit. Judging by the seats that were built up to the corridor, this was some sort of theater or game field.

With a casual air, he strolled closer to the edge and glanced down. Metal bars covered the far end of the pit, which was filled with sand. What kind of game demanded cages and sand? Maybe it was one of those arenas that were popular among Hutts, where large, starving creatures would battle each other for the amusement of the bloodthirsty crowds. One always found such places on outlying worlds. Trying to keep his expression free of disgust, he moved away, back to the edge.

It had been nearly a quarter of an hour now, and Obi-Wan wondered whether he should go back and check for Cody, or proceed on his own. The question was settled for the moment as an orange Twi'lek approached him, his demeanor confident and relaxed.

"I beg your pardon, Master Jedi," he said smoothly.

Obi-Wan moved his hand toward his hidden lightsaber. He had been discovered. Ah well, at least he could move the hood and breathe again. Shifting the rough fabric away from his face, he smiled at the Twi'lek. "Yes? How can I help you?"

"Actually, it's more a question of how _I _can help _you,_" the man said, gesturing with a long blaster.

"Forgive me," said Obi-Wan, eyeing the weapon distrustfully. "I'm not sure I entirely believe that."

"I have a proposition for you, Jedi."

"Indeed. It wouldn't happen to be from Count Dooku, would it?"

The Twi'lek's pointed teeth glinted in a smile. "Do you want to help your friends, or don't you?"

"That would depend on the manner of 'helping', I'm afraid." Obi-Wan looked around the room. "Are they here – what shall I call you?"

"My name is Tar Saresh. And you're General Kenobi of the Galactic Republic."

Obi-Wan inclined his head. "Glad to hear it."

"The Count wishes me to show you this." He held out the holorecorder and pressed a button. A blue hologram flickered into life. Despite the situation, Obi-Wan couldn't help a sense of amusement. Two figures were in the hologram. Anakin leaned forward, gesturing angrily, his eyes narrowed, and just in front of him stood Cody, his posture slightly defensive, but his expression and bearing professionally calm.

Obi-Wan stroked his beard. "Might I be so bold as to ask why the Count has imprisoned them in this . . . establishment?"

Saresh tossed the holorecorder and caught it. "Count Dooku offers you a trade. If you surrender to us, he will release them. Otherwise, they will die."

"Well, I see the Count isn't mincing words today." Obi-Wan paced, pretending to think for a long moment, but in reality there was no choice. Unclipping his lightsaber, he flipped it around. "I'll turn this in now, as a gesture of good faith, if you will let me see them released. Forgive me if I'm not particularly trusting of your employer's word."

Saresh accepted the lightsaber, clapping him on the shoulder in a companionable fashion. "I wouldn't trust his word either, Jedi Kenobi. Very well. You shall see your friends freed." He raised his voice, calling out in Twi'leki. A moment later, two others of his kind disappeared down the stairs that lead to the seating area around the pit.

"What exactly is this place?" Obi-Wan asked. "It doesn't exactly look like a bolo-ball court."

"Nothing so common, I assure you," laughed Tar Saresh. He narrowed his eyes, and before Obi-Wan could move, he found his right wrist clutched in an iron grip. The Twi'lek jabbed a small device against Obi-Wan's arm, and he collapsed to his knees as a steady surge of electricity weakened him.

He gasped in protest. "I gave you my weapon!"

"Yours, yes, but not the Dathomirian's."

Saresh stepped back, removing the stun weapon. "Turn them over, now."

Frowning a little at having to reveal his last card, Obi-Wan obeyed.

With all three lightsabers in hand, Saresh took a long step back, his blaster still pointed at Obi-Wan's heart. "There, that is better."

_Thank you for your approval. _

Having placated his injured pride with that inaudible remark, Obi-Wan waited calmly for Anakin and Cody to arrive. He noticed that the rest of the room's occupants had left, presumably on some job or another.

Half a minute later, footsteps sounded against the stone floor, and the prisoners appeared, each followed by a pair of well-armed guards. Neither of them saw Obi-Wan at first. Anakin stalked along, his eyes narrowed in concentration, and Cody, whose hands were not bound, watched him from the corner of his eyes, as though he were waiting for a signal of some sort.

Tar Saresh smirked. "Your Jedi friend is going to attack his guards," he said. "I'd stake five hundred credits on it."

Before Obi-Wan could open his mouth, Anakin shouted, "Now!"  
Cody turned and caught his Rodian guard's arm, flipping him completely over one shoulder and slamming him into the floor. Anakin turned to face his own guards and took a long step back, flinging his bound hands in their direction. A pulse of Force-energy, much less powerful than usual, sent them reeling back, and before either could regain his balance, Anakin had kicked the Weequay in the chin twice.

"See? I'd have won five hundred credits, had you bothered to place a bet against mine," said Tar Saresh. His pleased expression faded somewhat when Cody, with a flying tackle, slammed the second guard to the ground and grabbed his throat.

Anakin dropped to his knees beside the fallen Weequay, attempting to grab his gun, and Obi-Wan reached out a hand to pull his lightsaber back.

"Don't try it," said the orange Twi'lek, his smile transforming to a snarl, and he pointed his gun at Anakin, his free hand resting over the lightsabers.

Obi-Wan did the only thing he could. "Anakin, look out!" he shouted.

Anakin and the Weequay, both of whom were clutching at the weapon, glanced up at him. So did Cody. The large human guard Cody was throttling twisted suddenly. He landed on top of the commander and used his considerable weight in his favor, slamming his elbow down against Cody's chest. The Rodian got up, chittering angrily, and stumbled over to them, raising a stun baton.

The Weequay shot at Anakin, but missed by a hairs breadth. Anakin lunged, twisted the gun violently from his grasp, and shot him twice at point-blank range. Tar Saresh cursed, lifting his own gun, and fired a stun blast, but Anakin twisted under the laser and used the second human guard as a shield.

As the Twi'lek shifted his aim, Obi-Wan reached for his lightsaber a second time. An instant's warning was all he got before a surge of Force-energy held him immobile. A deep voice said, "We meet again, Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Tar Saresh glanced over his shoulder, rolling his eyes. "I have it well in hand, Count," he said. Sure enough, Anakin was on his hands and knees – Obi-Wan hadn't seen what happened at the last instant, but he no longer had a gun. Cody was kneeling, his arms held behind his back by the large human. Both prisoners seemed more than a little displeased, and Obi-Wan couldn't blame them.

Count Dooku frowned. "Did he not agree to the trade?"

The orange Twi'lek tilted his head, smiling again as he handed the three lightsabers to the Sith lord. "The Jedi Kenobi agreed; it was the other two who didn't cooperate. But no harm done – except for him, that is." He gestured at the dead Weequay and shrugged.

Anakin glared at Obi-Wan. "What are you doing here, Master?" he demanded roughly, shaking off his guard's grip.

Obi-Wan looked back at him, raising a sarcastic eyebrow. "Negotiating – or rescuing you, however you prefer to say it."

"Oh. It seems to be going well."

"Anakin, if you hadn't taken matters into your own hands –"

"Yeah, well, I didn't exactly know you were here, Master. All I knew was that our _mission_, that was _supposed_ to take top priority, isn't completed."

Obi-Wan gazed evenly at him. "All in good time, Anakin. Now, if you don't mind, I must discuss something with the Count."

"Augh!" Anakin struggled to his feet. "No! We're not negotiating with Dooku _or_ his filthy slaver allies!"

The Count looked more imperious than ever. "You don't have a choice, young Skywalker. Now be silent and let me speak with your master."

Anakin's eyes glowed with fury, but when Obi-Wan continued to stare at him, he jerked his head to the side in angry surrender. Cody said nothing, although that could have been because he was still trying to regain his breath. His eyes focused steadily on each occupant of the room, one after the other.

Obi-Wan turned back to the Sith lord. "Tar Saresh told me that you were willing to free them, if I surrendered."

"You are correct." The Count considered him for a long moment. "Saresh? Master Kenobi won't give you any trouble. You may release them."

Tar Saresh nodded and gestured to his men. Grumbling, the Weequay unlocked and removed Anakin's restraints. Anakin shoved him back, still glowering. "You think you can trust _him _to keep his word, Master?"

"I just did, did I not?" said Dooku, rather smugly.

"Anakin, keep silent," ordered Obi-Wan. He knew Count Dooku would have recognized his apprentice's lightsabers, and that it was very likely the mission would fail as it was. But if Anakin and Cody could get back to the _Twilight _in time, they might at least escape with their lives. He stared at his former apprentice, willing Anakin to think through the situation before he did something foolish.

Anakin ground his teeth, but remained quiet. Cody looked from him to Obi-Wan, then at the Count, as though he were calculating something. If he had been Rex, he might have rushed at the Count simply for the sake of resisting. Obi-Wan was glad he didn't have to worry about that, at least. Now, if only Cody could keep Anakin from attempting another rescue that was bound to fail.

"Come, Jedi Skywalker," said Tar Saresh, gesturing with his gun. "You can either leave with your life, or be shot where you stand."

After a second more of furious glaring, Anakin obeyed. With a final glance, Cody followed quietly. Obi-Wan watched as they left the building. At the entrance, Tar Saresh spoke again, bowed mockingly in farewell, and pressed the door controls. The heavy metal door slid shut.

"There you are, Count," said the orange Twi'lek, striding back to them. "I told you it would work, did I not?"

"You did well," replied the Sith lord calmly. "Now. Lock Master Kenobi in your most secure cell. If he escapes, it means your life."

Again, Tar Saresh seemed more annoyed than frightened. "No need to threaten, Count," he said coolly. "I know what I have to do."

"Very good." And Count Dooku left, leaving Obi-Wan to wonder what in the galaxy he had planned this time. It never boded well, when the Count kept prisoners. Still, he had sensed no duplicity from the Sith lord. At least Anakin and Cody would be safe.

Outside the building, Anakin stood facing the shut door with tense muscles. Cody glanced around at the curious gazes they were attracting. "General Skywalker," he said after a moment. "We should get back to the _Twilight_."

"And leave Obi-Wan here?" he snapped.

Cody paused. "General, Count Dooku must know we have Ventress prisoner. If he attacks, the men won't stand a chance."

There was a long pause, and then Anakin's shoulders slumped. "Fine. But we're coming back later."

They headed down a mostly deserted side street as Cody replied, "Yes, sir. General Kenobi won't be happy, though."

Anakin brightened visibly and punched his right fist into his left palm. "No, but I'd have to go back anyway. The good Count has my lightsaber."

He strode on, filled with new vigor, but as they neared the end of the street, he came to a sudden stop. "We're in trouble . . ." he said, his tone worried.

Cody turned, standing back to back with him. There was nothing in sight except a large pile of packing crates –

Then the crates were thrown aside and a dozen figures jumped out and rushed at them without a word. Anakin flung two of them back with a surge of Force energy, but the sheer numbers overwhelmed him. He fought like a madman, whirling and leaping and lashing out in every direction with sudden attacks that left their enemies reeling.

Amidst the blur of motion, he caught sight of Cody slamming one enemy's head against the wall, but then three others descended on him, their stun batons flashing.

Anakin, alone and weaponless, faced off against six opponents. They hesitated for the briefest instant before lunging at him. Barely able to see through the whirl of desperation and anger that surrounded him, Anakin snatched a club from the nearest figure and struck out blindly. He killed two of them before two stun batons were shoved against his back and held there.

As the last vestiges of consciousness faded from him, he heard a voice say, "Curse these Jedi freaks! Why does Saresh want him, anyway?"

_Saresh . . ._

**Well, there's more action in this one, anyway. :) Poor Anakin can't seem to catch a break though. As the random thug said, "Why does Saresh want him, anyway?" Any ideas? *evil grin* Let me know what you think!**


	17. Chapter 17

Captain Rex entered the cockpit of the _Twilight_ for the third time. Oddball was still kneeling beside the comms station, fiddling with the wires. Switch stood next to him, keeping his weight off his injured leg as he watched.

"Captain." Wooley greeted him from the pilot's seat. "We just located one of the jammers."

"One of them? How many are there?"

Oddball got up and turned to him. "Two, sir. One of them's blocking our off-planet transmissions, but the other's a local."

"Hmm." Rex joined them and stared down at Switch's screen. "So, if we take it out, we'll have ground comms again. How close is it?"

Oddball adjusted another setting, glanced at the screen, and smirked. "Close enough that we can take it out with the _Twilight's _gun."

He pointed out the viewport at the low-lying building the generals and clones had used to enter the castle.

"Any lifeforms present?"

Switch turned to another screen. "Several in the left wing of the castle; none in the storage building."

"Sergeant?" Rex invited.

Wooley limped over to the main gun and swung it down from the ceiling. There were three double-blasts of laser fire, evenly spaced, and the building dissolved into rubble.

"Local comms coming back online," reported Oddball.

"Captain," said Switch. "We've got a lot of lifeforms around the front gate."

"At least one of our problems was easy to solve," said Rex, tilting his head toward the wreckage. "Get our comms synced. You three stay here. Be ready to use the gun, if I tell you."

"We'll charge it up, sir," said Wooley.

Rex nodded and left, heading aft. His commlink blinked twice, signaling a reset, as he entered the cargo hold. Ventress was still unconscious. Despite that, the four clones around her had their guns pointed unwaveringly at her head and torso, and Kix stood next to her, another hypo of sedative ready. Lying on a large crate behind the medic was Boomer, who was still recovering, having been hit the hardest by Dooku's Force-lightning attack.

"We might have trouble," Rex told his men. "There's a large crowd outside the wall."

"Can they get in?" asked Fives.

"The wall isn't _that _high," said Trap. "Is the general back yet?"

"No. And he's only been gone an hour, so we can't expect him back any time soon."

Longshot tapped his hand against his gun. "So . . . we're in trouble again."

"If they intend to attack, yes we are." Rex tapped his comm. "Men, report to the cargo hold for orders. Switch, Wooley, stay where you are. Keep an eye on the crowd and let me know if anything changes."

"Got it."

It took perhaps half a minute for everyone to gather. Sergeant Boomer started to join the others, but when he staggered sideways, Kix marched over and made him sit on a crate. "You can listen from there," he said.

Boomer grumbled and Jesse snickered.

As Trap and Flash, who had been on guard, entered, Rex glanced over the men, evaluating the situation. One ship with guns; nineteen men – twelve who hadn't been injured and seven who had, in one way or another; one dangerous prisoner, still unconscious; a large crowd of potential hostiles outside the wall; two missing Jedi and one missing commander; no reinforcements; and Grievous was still unaccounted for.

Well, it wasn't the worst situation they'd ever been in. . .

It sure as fate wasn't the best, either. Rex locked his hands behind his back and stood upright.

"There might be an attack soon – possibly to rescue the prisoner," he said. "Since the generals aren't back yet, and we have no idea when they will be, it's up to us to stop the attack. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

"We've got one thing in our favor. Ground comms are back online. Everyone, check in and make sure you've got a signal. Kix? I want anyone unfit for battle stationed inside."

The medic nodded. "Sergeant Wooley, Sergeant Boomer, and Switch are the most seriously injured. Longshot is injured, but shouldn't have trouble. Trap and Flash are a little stiff. Jesse is knocked up, and so are you."

"Right," said Rex, ignoring the last sentence. 'Knocked up' was not at all the same as injured. "Trap and Flash, I want you two outside, guarding the ramp. If things get too hot, retreat inside and help guard the prisoner."

They saluted and left.

Rex glanced over the other men. He wasn't quite as familiar with the strengths of Cody's men. Then again, this should be a straight-up firefight, so there probably weren't any wrong choices.

"Namer, take Det, Waxer and Boil. Take cover across the courtyard – we just knocked down the storage building; you might have luck there. We'll try to split their fire between two fronts."

"Yes, captain." Namer gestured to the other three. "Let's find a good position."

"Oddball, you'll stay here," Rex continued. "You know the launch codes – if it looks like we're going to be overwhelmed, I want you to lock down all the ship systems. Put Switch and Wooley on the guns."

"Yes, sir." Oddball put on his helmet's pilot and headed back to the cockpit.

"Boomer –"

"I'm fine, sir."

Rex ignored him. "You'll stay here as a last line of defense. If the prisoner is rescued, the mission fails."

". . . Yes, sir." His sergeant was obviously not fooled by Rex's attempt to make his 'job' sound more important than it was, but then, neither was Rex fooled by his attempt to stand up straight.

"Snap, I want you here also. Gadget, you too."

Snap, whom Rex knew was a veteran of many battles, looked disappointed, but he nodded without comment.

"Ghost, Longshot – Cody tells me you're good snipers. Take Fives and Echo with you. Two snipers on each side of the gate. Get up top."

Ghost tapped Echo on the arm. "You're with me, kid," he said. "Let's see how good you are."

Echo glanced at Fives almost uncertainly before following. Fives simply shrugged a little and trailed after Longshot. Rex decided he should separate the two of them in battle more frequently. They were good, but they couldn't just work with each other. They had to get used to working closely with other brothers – especially since this was their first mission since Rishi.

Rex glanced at the last two clones. "Kix, you keep an eye on the men. Jesse – you keep an eye on Kix."  
"Yes, sir." Jesse clapped his helmet on.

Kix checked Ventress' vitals, jabbed another shot – how much of that stuff was it taking to keep her unconscious? – into her neck, and slung his medic pack onto his shoulders. Picking up his rifle, he said, "We'll take cover in front of the ship."

Rex turned to the three guarding Ventress. "You have any trouble, you call for help immediately, got it?"

Boomer switched the safety on his gun off. "Yes, sir. We won't let them take her."

"Nope," said Snap easily. "If they take her, it'll be after they lose a _lot _of men."

Rex nodded to them and left. He checked on the three in the cockpit, ordered Wooley and Switch to keep on the guns, and tried the generals' comm channels. There was no response, so he tried to contact Cody. No response from him, either.

_I wonder what the commander has gotten himself into this time. _He discarded the thought immediately. There was a battle to be fought. If they survived, they could go after the others. If not – well, they wouldn't be around to worry about it.

Rex entered the courtyard and glanced around, locating each of the men and marking their positions. He stood on the side of the ship nearest the gate and waited, both pistols drawn. "What's it looking like out there?" he asked.

Wooley replied. "We've got a few hundred people outside, sir. One group of about fifty is close to the gate, the rest seem to be hanging back."

So, civilians were in the background; they would probably stay back unless the clones seemed to be winning. The immediate threat was the group closest to them, and they appeared to be preparing for a headlong rush.

"Captain –"

Then there was an explosion. Pieces of the large gate blew outwards, and Rex ducked, already firing through the dust and smoke that filled the gap in the wall.

A volley of blue lasers flew through the courtyard – in both directions. Rex's mind went to high alert and he listened more carefully. Sure enough, the rapid sound of the clones' blasters was interspersed with the high-pitched sound of stun lasers. The enemy wanted to take them captive. _Not good._

The turret guns on the ship fired into the opening left by the gate, and there was an outbreak of cries and cursing. The incoming shots died down for a moment.

Ducking behind the wing, Rex lifted his comm to his helmet, still firing with his left hand. "Oddball! Change of plans. Warm up the engines."

"On it, captain."

"They're behind us!" Namer exclaimed.

Longshot's voice broke in. "Captain, they're splitting up. I've got a group coming up this side. They're climbing!"

Rex sent a few more shots towards the dust-filled opening in the wall and glanced to his left. Longshot had gotten to his feet and now stood, firing calmly downwards. Fives knelt beside him – and then he jerked and fell off the wall, landing hard twelve feet below.

Echo shouted his name, momentarily distracted, but he turned back to his own battle immediately and continued shooting. Beside him, Ghost was lying flat on the wall, firing off single shots, one after the other.

Rex had known the enemy wouldn't try rushing the gate a second time – not with the _Twilight's _guns guarding it – but he hadn't realized how well-organized they were. They had spread along the entire wall. On the other hand, half of Rex's men didn't have targets to shoot at yet, and they wouldn't until the enemy got over the wall. . . At which point it would be too late.

"Namer!" he ordered. "Get your men over here. We'll have to take off!"

"On our way, sir!"

A glint of sunlight caught his eye. On the roof of a nearby building, a Weequay was just lifting a long rifle to his shoulder. Rex came to a full stop, lifted both pistols, and fired them simultaneously. The Weequay jolted to his feet, staggered, and pitched headlong off the roof with a scream.

Rex took a running start and climbed the wall in two steps, clutching at the top to pull himself up. Beside him, Longshot's rifle clicked on an empty cartridge, and he brought it down hard on the nearest attacker's head. There was a sudden flicker of red, and Longshot fell, a hole smoking in the shoulder of his armor.

Another Weequay sniper – Rex killed him, too, then grabbed Longshot's arm and shoved him unceremoniously off the wall. As he jumped down, landing unsteadily in the sand, the _Twilight _fired another blast, sending whirls of smoke and grit flying through the courtyard.

"Keep your head down!" said a voice, and Kix was there, firing over Rex, then pulling Longshot to his feet and hurrying toward the ship.

Jesse fell back to cover him, firing every time he saw a target. "We can't hold 'em off, Rex."

"I know. We'll have to take off and hope they don't have any heavy artillery nearby."

Jesse nodded and ran to the front of the ship, using it for cover as he shouted for Echo and Ghost to get down. He was still speaking when the entire wall shook with an explosion, and the two snipers were sent flying. Another hole appeared on the side facing the boarding ramp, not twenty meters away the ship.

Rex jumped forward. "They've breached the wall! Everyone, fall back to the ship!"

Trap and Flash, still guarding the ramp, were the first to fall under the onslaught of stun blasts that filled the air. Jesse flung himself to the ground, rolled under the ship and continued shooting.

"Captain!" shouted Boil as he charged out of the ship, followed by Waxer. "They just took Echo and Ghost!"

"Nothing we can do!" replied Rex. "Keep blasting!"

Wooley was quick to swing the _Twilight's _gun around and fire on the new breach, but as soon as he did the gate was left exposed and a second rush of men joined the first.

The courtyard was in chaos. As Rex ducked under the ship's extended wing, he saw Det taken captive, then Waxer. There was only one chance left to salvage this mission, but Rex knew he and the others wouldn't be getting out. "Oddball! Get this ship to the _Negotiator!_"

The engines, already active, fired up. Jesse scrambled out from underneath the ship, and Rex rushed the enemies crowding their way up the ramp. The enemy soldiers had stopped using their guns, probably because they were in such close quarters now. It was foolish of them – a stun blast wasn't lethal – but Rex was never one to question luck. He fired over and over, until his pistols could scarcely recharge in time for each shot. Behind him, Jesse was using his empty rifle like a club. They were on the boarding ramp, still trying to fight his way through the press of aliens to the door, when the ship lifted off. Rex lost his balance, and a wiry blue Twi'lek jumped on his back, nearly sending him over the edge. Obviously, thought Rex, as he tossed the Twi'lek over the side, the alien had lost his weapon.

"Captain!" shouted Snap's voice. "They've broken through –"

His voice cut off with a fizzle of static just as Kix appeared in the doorway and joined Rex and Jesse.

Oddball's calm voice came through next. "Captain, we're too high for anyone to board. I can hold this position until you're inside."

"Wait for my order," he replied breathlessly. He jammed his useless pistol into a Rodian's stomach and shoved him off the ramp. Jesse kicked the last enemy in the knee, collapsing it, just as a double shot from the ground hit him in the back.

Kix lunged forward and caught his wrists before he fell off, but a flicker of movement behind him caught Rex's attention. "Kix, look out!"

He fired and hit one of the assailants, but the other two grabbed the medic's arms and shoved him sideways, over the edge of the ramp. "Seal the doors!" shouted Rex into his comm. "Trap them inside –!"

It was too late. Two fully armored Weequay, obviously more skilled than the average thugs they'd been dealing with, dragged Ventress out onto the ramp just as the door hissed shut behind them. A hovercraft, full of more enemies, rose into the air beside them, coming to pick up their rescued prisoner. Rex, his balance wavering as the ship moved, fired again – but his pistols' weakened charges did little more than make them angry.

One of the Weequay lifted his rifle and pointed it at Rex's head. "We don't need all of you alive," he snarled in a guttural voice. "Surrender, clone."

Rex slowly put his hands in the air, simultaneously bringing his commlink closer to his mouth. He had failed his mission, but General Kenobi and Cody might still have a chance. "Stay within range of local comms if you can," he said.

"What?" snarled the bigger of the two Weequay.

"Roger that," said Oddball. "We'll wait for the generals. Good luck, sir."

Rex had every intention of making his own luck. As the Weequay stepped forward to take his guns, he turned and flung himself into the air, falling between the hovercraft and the _Twilight _towards the sand below.

**Okay, now everyone's in trouble. The commandos and Kit Fisto are still on Vassek III, setting more charges. Anakin and Cody are in prison; Obi-Wan is in a different prison; Rex has just decided to jump off a ship that's fifteen or twenty feet off the ground; a few clones are on the _Twilight_; and most of the clones have been captured. **

**Now, I have an offer to make all of you. If you have a particular 'scene' that you'd like in this story, I can try to fit it in. For example (though I sort of already did this one), you could ask to have Obi-Wan and Dooku making Anakin be quiet. The nice thing about stories with a loose outline is that I can maneuver things around a bit. :) **

**You can either leave a suggestion in a review, or PM me - but if you leave it in a review, please make sure you're signed in so I can reply. :) Thanks!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Sorry about the long delay, everyone! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas season and New Year's Day! :)**

Kit Fisto entered the central chamber of the third level and halted. Frowning, he looked carefully around the room once, and then again. The note of warning in the Force had grown more intense the further they traveled into Grievous' lair, but the Jedi Master couldn't perceive where the danger lay.

The commandos moved silently into the room on either side of him, their guns tracking wherever they looked. It seemed that it didn't take a Jedi to feel the imminent danger looming over them. "Sergeant," he said. "I suggest you and your men set those charges quickly. We don't have much time."

The sergeant's glowing visor stared in Kit Fisto's direction for a moment, as though he were considering something. Then he turned away, pointing his men to three corners of the room. They followed his orders without a word – even Scorch, who seemed rather talkative, on the whole.

"General," said Boss. "How much time do we have?"

"I'm afraid I can't give you specifics," Kit Fisto replied, shrugging. "But the Force is warning me that the farther we travel, the more danger we are in."

The sergeant's fingers, busy tapping in the code on his demo charge, stilled momentarily. "Any idea what_ kind_ of danger?"

"I sense no intelligent beings nearby . . ." the general replied slowly.

"Droids, then," said Fixer, returning.

"That," grunted Sev. "Or an explosion set to go off when we enter the last room."

Scorch cast a quick, tense glance up at the ceiling. "Yeah, isn't that a cheerful thought. Uh – which _is _the last room?"

Sev shrugged, not looking up from his work. "Well . . . it's not this one."

Kit Fisto grinned as Fixer's chest plate lifted in an inaudible sigh. Then the commlink on his wrist flashed green and Advisor's voice came through. "Delta Squad, I'm reading an incoming ship headed straight for us."

"What's the ID?" the sergeant asked. He turned on his heel, raising his left hand and closing it. The other commandos fell in behind him, armored boots clicking quietly over the stone floor. Kit Fisto followed soundlessly, the feeling of imminent danger looming higher.

"Still too far out for a scan, but judging by the size and speed, it's fighter class. One moment . . . running a scan now . . . Delta Thirty-Eight, it's scanning as _Soulless One_."

Kit Fisto stopped mid-stride, and Boss' focus zeroed in on him. "You recognize that name, General?"

"The _Soulless One _is Grievous' ship," he replied, narrowing his eyes.

There was an instant of silence as the other commandos exchanged glances, and then Kit Fisto drew his lightsaber and smirked. "Well, it would seem that the general is no longer on Rattatak."

Advisor spoke again. "He's on a vector for the north landing pad."

"Good," said Boss. "We might still have a chance of reaching the shuttle. Transmit the remaining demo charge positions to me."

"Transmitting now. General, if I shut down all nonvital systems, I might be able to slow him enough for you to complete your objective."

"An excellent idea – but be sure to leave the systems on this level running for the moment," Kit Fisto answered. "Once we get out, you can lock down the entire fortress."

"Will do, sir."

Boss glanced at the chronometer on his wrist. "Advisor, how long until that data transfer is complete?"

"Four minutes. I'm looking for a good rendezvous point now. . ."

"Get into the shaft and climb down?" Boss suggested, a definite hint of a smirk in his voice. "It'll be safer than waiting for Grievous to find you."

"I'll do that." Advisor's tone was not as sarcastic as Kit Fisto would have expected.

With that taken care of, the Jedi stood in the open doorway and waited. Scorch and Fixer set charges at either side of the hall they currently occupied.

Boss motioned to Sev. "I want you to watch our backs," he said. "We'll finish this."

Sev nodded. He pulled two charges from his pack and marched over to Scorch, opening the other's backpack. "Hold still," he muttered, dumping them in. "Thirty-Eight wants you to carry these."

Scorch clicked the final few buttons with an added flourish. "Yes! _More _explosives!"

Kit Fisto watched the commandos, as he had been most of the time they'd been on Vassek III. He swung his lightsaber again, almost hoping that a MagnaGuard or two would come rushing out of the shadows that surrounded him. He knew he hadn't killed them all the last time he was here – so where were they?

The sense of oncoming danger pressed against the back of his mind, and he studied the narrow hallway. Grievous was most deadly in places like this, where there was no room for his enemies to dodge. The commandos would have a better chance of accomplishing their mission if Grievous was engaged elsewhere.

With a quick nod, Kit Fisto moved over to join the commando leader, who was studying a map on Fixer's datapad. "Sergeant," he said. "Would you and your team be able to escape on your own if I left to distract Grievous?"

The glowing visor stared at him for several long seconds before Boss' distinctive voice replied, "Most likely."

"I sense some hesitation from you," said Kit Fisto, in his most mysterious voice. Not that it took a Jedi to pick up on the careful way Boss had answered. He grinned, spoiling the effect.

The commando seemed not to notice. "We could do it, sir. But if Grievous figures out someone's here, we might end up well over our heads."

"Hmm. You do have a point." Kit Fisto twirled his lightsaber a few times, the familiar weight of the hilt reassuring. "Well, then. Where to next?"

The sergeant returned the datapad to Fixer. "Two adjoining rooms at this end, and then we can get out of here. Let's go, Deltas."

* * *

Rex sat up painfully, turning to catch his weight on his hands. The sand all around him was pitted and scarred from the battle, littered with the drab-clothed corpses of the enemy. There were no armored figures; he knew that this was a problem, but couldn't remember _why_. He blinked a few times and stared at the ground, trying to clear the spots from his vision.

The sand shifted just behind him. Someone grabbed his arm, and he snatched at the other person's hand, twisting it hard and using the leverage to get to his feet.

"Gah – REX!" Jesse knelt there, his free hand lifted to ward off the blow Rex was aiming at his eyes.

"Jesse." Rex released him, surprise making his voice sharp. "What did I tell you about sneaking up on me?"

He hadn't, actually, but Jesse only said, "Won't happen again, sir."

As the adrenaline faded, a wave of dizziness rushed over Rex. He wanted to fall where he was and lie flat, but instead he rested his hands on his belt, glanced around, and barked, "Sit rep!"

"Riiiight." Jesse got up and bent his wrist gingerly, testing to see that it wasn't broken. "Snap is checking the courtyard for survivors, and Gadget's –"

"Wait," said Rex. "Weren't they on the ship?"

Jesse shrugged. "Last I remember."

The last thing Rex remembered was jumping off the boarding ramp of the _Twilight, _ and he was quite sure that both Snap and Gadget had been in the cargo hold. Well, first things first. He located his guns, which were absolutely covered in sand, and holstered them before checking the rest of the courtyard. Snap was wandering around, prodding at each body as he came to it with the end of his long blaster, and Kix and Gadget were near what used to be the gate. The _Twilight_ was nowhere to be seen – hopefully Oddball had gotten her out of range of any cannons. If he hadn't, they were down several good men _and_ their only ride off this dust ball of a planet.

Rex removed his helmet and attempted to clean out the ventilator, without much success. No wonder General Skywalker hated sand – the stuff got absolutely everywhere.

"So," said Jesse conversationally. "What's the plan?"

"The plan. . ." Rex gave up on his ventilator and checked his commlink. It seemed to be working, so he cleared his throat and said, "Kix, Gadget, Snap. Let's regroup."

He noticed, as they approached, that Kix was moving slowly, his right arm held stiffly, and he raised a questioning eyebrow at Jesse.

"He landed wrong," the other clone said. "Broke his arm, he said, but he won't let us set it."

Kix's voice came through the helmet, which Rex still held. "The armor's a better immobilizer than fabric."

Jesse rolled his eyes.

"Captain," said Snap, saluting. "Two enemy survivors – I put a stun blast in each of them. There are a lot of civilians outside the walls, but they're not approaching."

"Probably waiting for us to leave," said Rex. He'd seen this before, people waiting for the soldiers to move out so they could loot the dead from both armies. "Weapons?"

"Stun batons and blasters." He motioned to a small pile of rifles and pistols. "That's all I've found so far."

"Good job," said Rex. "Now, what exactly are you doing down here?"

"Gadget and I were uninjured, so Wooley sent us after you. He and Switch scared off the rest of the enemy with the turrets, but most of the men had already been captured."

Rex frowned thoughtfully. "But we weren't."

"No, sir. I guess they thought it wasn't worth the risk, once Wooley got those guns on them."

"That makes sense. But why'd they capture any of us in the first place?"

"Hostages, maybe," said Jesse, watching as the other two clones reached them.

Rex nodded. "Gadget, Kix."

The medic cast a practiced eye over them. "Everyone all right?"

"Looks like you're the only casualty this time," Rex replied. "Take a stim shot?"

"When I need to," said Kix. He hated them, and everyone knew it. "Are we going after the general, Rex?"

Rex glanced up at the sun. "General Kenobi and Cody should have been back a while ago."

"I checked the channels," said Gadget. "They're not responding. Neither is General Skywalker, or any of the men who were caught."

"Way I see it," said Rex slowly, "We've got our work cut out for us."

"Yeah," said Jesse. "We'll probably find them the same place we find Dooku and Ventress."

Gadget, who had joined the 212th when Fives and Echo had joined the 501st, glanced from Rex to Jesse and back, his eyes wide. "But – we can't fight them."

"Maybe not," said Rex. "But the generals can."

Gadget put on his helmet, appearing to consider for a moment. "What if we have to fight them to get the generals out?"

"Stop _worrying_, kid," said Snap, stepping up beside him. "We'll find a way."

"But if the generals are already captured, that means they already lost once," said Gadget, with undeniable logic.

Snap let out an aggravated sigh and smacked him upside the helmet. "Didn't I just say to stop worrying?"

Gadget gave an exaggerated yelp and sidestepped, ducking Snap's hand. "I was just _asking _. . ."

"All right," said Rex, lifting a hand. "Listen up. They're not likely to be in the castle, so does anyone have any idea where they _could _be?"

"It'll be a secure building," said Jesse. "Probably nowhere easily accessible."

"Not in the main area of town," Snap added. "Somewhere civilians won't be likely to go, probably. Maybe we can track them."

"Gadget?" Rex glanced at him. "Anything useful in that arsenal of yours?"

The younger clone pulled a small device out of his utility belt. "Scanning for energy signatures won't be useful here," he said. "But maybe I could try a biometric scan."

"Too many people around," Kix said, shaking his head.

"Try boosting our reception," said Jesse. "Maybe you can locate the others' commlinks, even if they're not able to use them."

"Good idea," said Rex, when Gadget nodded. "While he's doing that, the rest of you check the weapons Snap found. Might be something useful in there."

There were a couple of spare energy packs, but most of the guns were stun weapons only – with low charges, at that. Rex stood back and fired a few well-placed shots into the pile, watching with satisfaction when they exploded.

No sense in leaving weapons for potential enemies, after all.

"I found something!" Gadget called. "I can only get a general direction, but they're somewhere_ that _way."

He pointed out the large gap that had been blown in the wall. Jesse boosted Rex up and he leaned his elbows against the crumbled top, peering through the electrobinoculars that Kix passed him. Mostly small apartments and narrow streets – there was nothing nearby that stood out. "Gadget, can you give me the distance?"

He sounded uncertain when he answered. "Not an accurate one. . ."

"Best estimate, then."

"About a kilometer."

Rex adjusted the range, and . . ._ there. _A long, wide, low building with guards at the doors. He checked once more to make sure there was nothing more likely, but that particular building stood out in the city like a cruiser among fighters.

"We've got a direction," he said, jumping down from Jesse's shoulders.

"Ow," said Jesse absently. "What's it look like?"

Rex considered. "It won't be easy," he said, clipping the electrobinoculars to his belt and taking his helmet from Kix. "On the other hand, there are only two guards outside."

"Good," said Snap. "One for me, and the other for me as well."

"Want me to take point?" Gadget offered.

Rex glanced at him. "_I'm_ always first, kid," he replied.

**Well, there's not a whole lot of action in this one, but it's coming. :)**

**Some of you might recognize the scene where Snap smacks Gadget's helmet; that's because the grumpy clone in Specterstick's story 'Second Wind', which I _highly _recommend to Cody fans in particular, smacked one of the younger clones the same way, and I found it hilarious. When Specterstick's kindly allowed me to name the grumpy clone, and I then got permission to use him in this story, I couldn't resist having him do the same thing. It just seems like one of those things the slightly older/more experienced clones might occasionally be tempted to do. Literally 'knock some sense' into the younger ones. :)**

**Also, once again: are there any scenes or situations you'd particularly like to see in this story?**

**Thanks to everyone who read this story or gave me feedback! I'll be working at updating more frequently. My goal this week is a chapter every other day - we'll see. That's the problem with not having a complete outline before I start a story. 'Separatist Web' was originally going to have only the commandos and Kit Fisto's part of the mission, but then I realized that the story would be rather short that way. :] Thanks to all of you for your patience! :)  
**


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay, here is another commando chapter! Oh, and from now on, whenever I say 'I'll update by such-and-such a time', you all have my permission to laugh condescendingly. I know I do. Maybe if I decide to take a long time to post, I'll write faster. **

General Fisto, his lightsaber humming as he moved, ran ahead of the commandos into the small room that Boss had pointed out. "No enemies here," he called over his shoulder, shutting off his lightsaber. "Though it appears we have found that extra power generator."  
"Oh, good," said Scorch. "Let's blow it to bits."

"Fixer," said Boss. "How many charges do you have left?"

"One det pack."

"I'm out. And Scorch will have two left after this room."

Fixer turned to check the hall behind them. "Will we need more, sir?"

"Not for the mission," Boss said. "But I don't like the idea of escaping while Grievous still has a working ship."

"We could plant a few thermals inside it," Fixer suggested.

"Let's keep it in mind, anyway. Completing the mission is no good to us if we get killed on the way out."

"All set here," Scorch reported.

Kit Fisto moved past him, his long tunic swishing around his knees. "I'll check the last room," he announced. "Something is wrong."

Boss felt his eyebrows lift. "Besides the fact that Grievous is here?" he inquired.

"There is danger _here_," the Jedi Master replied, edging along the wall as he neared the wide, dark doorway. "I do not think it is Grievous."

Boss glanced at his tactical display, locating the indicator that showed where Sev stood on guard, some twenty meters away. It may been caused by General Fisto's words, but all of Boss' survival instincts were tingling, and he'd learned never to ignore those instincts, especially not in a situation such as this. "Sev, form up."

"Yes, sir."

"The room is empty," the general said slowly. He glanced back at the commandos, the pale light casting strange shadows over his green face. "But I sense there's something near . . . We must be careful."

Boss nodded to him and lifted his rifle to ready position. "All right, let's get to it, Deltas. Keep your eyes open."

They moved into the high-ceilinged room, Sev and Scorch turning to either side as they entered, and Fixer and Thirty-Eight covering the center of the room. Sure enough, it was completely empty. No ammo crates or storage compartments, which was strange in and of itself. Why would such an immense room be empty?

Scorch seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Hey, maybe Grievous uses this for practicing with his lightsabers."

"On what?" Fixer said critically, lowering his gun and pulling his last det pack from where he'd clipped it to his belt.

Sev stood between Fixer and Scorch, facing outwards. The general was just inside the door, his large eyes a dark shade of purple as he carefully studied every corner of the room. Boss checked his tactical display again, then his chrono. Advisor should be checking in any second now. . .

"One to go," said Scorch, running across the room to the third wall. Fixer rejoined the others, checking his datapad one last time before slipping it into his pack.

General Fisto, his posture tense and alert, looked suddenly at the ceiling.

Boss eyed him for a moment, then swapped the attachment on his DC-17 to sniper configuration. There was nothing here, so whatever danger they were in would be coming towards them, down the long hall that was their escape route. Best get as many enemies as possible before they got near enough to hit the det packs.

_I don't fancy getting killed by our own explosives._

The comms clicked. Advisor's voice came through a sudden burst of static, his voice raised in alarm. "Deltas! I've got the data, but Grievous is headed straight for the control room! I'm locking everything d –"

His voice cut off in a shrill burst of static.

The room shook. Sev stepped back toward the wall and dropped to one knee, facing the door. A low, loud roar vibrated through the air.

Boss glanced at the general just in time to see his eyes widen in alarm, and then the Jedi spread his hands to either side, shouting, "_Look out_!"

A strange, invisible force took hold of Thirty-Eight, shoving him back towards the wall beside Fixer as Scorch and Sev were thrown in the opposite direction.

A grinding sound filled the room. The general jumped backward, landing in front of Sev, his lightsaber casting a green gleam through the sudden curtain of dust that fell from the ceiling.

"Don't move!" commanded the general, his usually mellow voice gone sharp and low. "Stay quiet."

He deactivated his lightsaber.

Boss tilted his head back carefully. Half of the ceiling had disappeared, leaving a ledge about six meters wide on either side of the room. On the ledge opposite him, under which Sev, Scorch and the general stood, was a massive, crouching shape, barely discernible in the shadows. An immense clawed arm reached out to clutch at the wall, and another roar vibrated the air.

Beside him, Fixer drew in his breath quickly.

Delta Thirty-Eight leaned further back into the shadows and looked over at Sev and Scorch. They and the general were indistinct shapes in the shadows – except for the commandos' glowing visors, which were focused on something above Boss and Fixer.

_Well. I guess we ran into those two creatures after all._

He reached for his commlink and spoke softly. "Deltas, keep your heads down. Your visors will attract attention."

They half-turned to the wall, tilting their heads toward the floor.

"Sir," said Sev. "What's the plan?"

"If we make it to the door before they realize we're here, we should be okay. Stick close to the wall."

Whatever that thing was, it was big, and it was being dangerously quiet. Watching them? Or was it somehow unaware of their presence? _Not likely. _

Boss almost looked up before remembering that there was a member of the team who was not wearing a helmet. "General Fisto," he murmured. "What is that creature?"

Scorch had dropped into a half-crouch, moving stealthily along the back wall until he reached the corner. When he reached it, he waited as Sev repeated the maneuver, and then General Fisto.

The Nautolan peered upward before lifting his commlink to his mouth. "I've never seen either of them, but I think the one across from you is a rancor –"

Another bellowing roar cut off his words, this one much lower than the other. The walls shook again, and Boss put out a hand to steady himself.

"Judging by the size, it's a bull rancor," Fixer said warningly. "Those things are nasty."

"We're running out of time . . ." Scorch muttered, but his movements were slow and careful as he moved along the side wall.

Sev followed. He turned, ready to cover the Jedi's movements, but General Fisto's voice came through the comm again. "Get to the door, Oh-Seven."

Fixer tapped Thirty-Eight's arm, gestured with two fingers at the creature across the room, and lifted a thermal in his left hand. Boss considered for a moment, made a slicing motion with his hand, and lifted his gun.

"General," he said. "This is no time for heroics."

The Jedi completely ignored his words. "You and Fixer get out first."

Boss leaned forward, tracking Scorch and Sev's progress. When they were a couple meters from the door, he moved, inching his way to the left, all his senses focused on the looming threat just over their heads.

A flash of yellow light filled the room, accompanied by a harsh crackle. Twin roars sounded. Pounding footsteps above them sent dust and tiny stones clattering down. A heavy weight struck the floor with an earth-shaking thud, and Scorch shouted, "_Boss!_"

Boss ducked, but something caught him in the shoulder, spinning him away from the cover of the wall. He hit the ground and rolled, vaguely aware that his three companions were shooting. Getting to one knee, he lifted his gun to his shoulder.

A massive shape filled his vision, and he sent a sniper round into it as he scrambled to his feet. He needed some distance – he took a step back. Something closed around him, forcing his right arm across his chest, and lifted him into the air.

Boss reached across with his left hand and stabbed his vibroblade into the creature's forearm once, then again. Another roar vibrated in his ears, and the pressure around him increased suddenly, crushing his arm. He clung to his rifle and twisted, trying to gain enough space to free it.

"Hey!" yelled Scorch. "Put him down, you filthy – agh!"

Over the clawed fingers that were wrapped across his chest, Boss saw Scorch get knocked across the room and into the wall.

General Fisto sprinted across the room and disappeared behind the monster. "Try to distract it!" he called.

Sev ran sideways, firing continuously, the blue lasers missing Boss by mere centimeters. Fixer, standing in the center of the floor, armed a grenade. "Flashbang!" he warned, flinging it directly at the rancor's head.

Thirty-Eight shut his eyes and turned his head, but the brilliant flurry of clinging sparks still blinded him momentarily. The creature holding him bellowed and reared back, its arms outstretched.

When Boss' vision cleared, he was staring directly into the red eyes and massive scaled face of the bull rancor. Boss jerked against the clutching claws, trying to free his gun, but his numb fingers loosened, and the blaster clattered to the stones below.

The rancor opened its mouth, revealing dripping fangs, and roared again.

Boss stared implacably back at it. "Come on. . . Come and get me."

The beast shoved him towards its gaping mouth. At the last possible instant, he kicked out, bracing one foot against either of its jaws and leaning back, knees locked. If his guess was right . . .

It was. The rancor pushed harder, intent on crushing its prey into its mouth. Boss bent his knees suddenly and swung his free arm straight into the side of the creature's face. His vibroblade pierced the thinner scales of its face easily, and he pulled back, readying another blow.

A flicker of green light, accompanied by a distinctive hum, heralded the arrival of the general, who soared into the air and landed on the rancor's head just above Boss. He balanced easily, stabbing his glowing blade straight through the rancor's skull.

The monster swayed, rumbling low in its chest, and the clutching fingers around Thirty-Eight's chest loosened. Boss slipped sideways. His left hand caught at one of the horny growths on the creature's lower jaw and he clung to it, the stone floor a full four meters below.

_This isn't good . . ._

"Hold on!" shouted the general. He jumped down, his lightsaber piercing the rancor's forearm. The claws tightened briefly before falling away. The rancor took a faltering step forward. General Fisto wavered and jumped clear.

Delta Thirty-Eight grit his teeth, weight hanging from his left hand as he fumbled for his ascension cable with numb fingers.

Sev's gravelly voice sounded in his ear. "Hold on, sir."

A cable imbedded itself in the rancor's neck with a soft _thud _just as his fingers slid from the grip. Boss caught the cable and slid down, throwing himself to the side as he hit the floor.

The rancor's body collapsed, one clawed hand falling just beside him. Thirty-Eight got up, his pistol pointed at its head, but there was no need. The red eyes were dull.

"Deltas, report," he said breathlessly, glancing at his three squad mates as they approached. "Anyone injured?"

"Nothing serious." Scorch hefted his pack higher on his shoulders, wincing. "But I can do without repeating that anytime soon. . ."

Sev came over and held out Boss' rifle, which he accepted with a nod. "Nice work, Oh-Seven. Anyone see where the second creature went?"

"It's on the second level," General Fisto said from the doorway. "And Grievous, apparently, is on the first."

"We can still use the shaft and bypass the second level," Fixer suggested.

Thirty-Eight considered as he switched his sniper attachment out for the blaster. He clipped his rifle to his belt and moved his right arm, testing the range of motion. Nothing seemed broken, so he pulled up the schematics on his HUD and studied them for a long moment.

"General," he said. "We might need you to engage Grievous after all."

"I look forward to it," the Jedi replied, his tone dark despite the smile on his face.

"All right, squad, let's get to it," Boss said, gesturing to the others. "We've got to get Advisor – and the data – back to the shuttle before anything else happens."

"I couldn't agree more," Scorch said.

**Does anyone know what the second creature is? Or what's going on with Advisor? :) I'll give you a hint - the second creature is canon, but it's only been in one 'thing'.**

**Let me know what you thought of this! :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Have a nice day, everyone! Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. :)**

**Edit: Hopefully my posting an edited chapter won't send everyone alerts. I had a few mistakes in here - sorry! **

The door to Obi-Wan's cell sprang open, and two Twi'lek entered, dragging a 501st trooper between them. They tossed him on the floor and stood aside as two more clones were shoved in.

Obi-Wan waited calmly until the guards left, shutting the door behind them; then he moved over to join the new prisoners. Echo glanced up from where he crouched beside the unconscious trooper. His eyes widened in surprise, and he jumped up, snapping a salute. "General!"

"At ease," Obi-Wan said, with a faint smile. He knelt and rolled the unconscious clone onto his back, recognizing him as Namer, one of Anakin's best troopers.

The third trooper pushed himself stiffly away from the wall. "How is he, sir? I think they hit him with a stun round."

"He doesn't seem to be injured," agreed Obi-Wan, sitting back on his heels. He looked up. "Flash, what happened? Did Ventress escape?"

"I don't know for sure, General. We were under attack – Weequay and humans, mostly. Captain Rex was trying to get the ship off the ground when I got hit."

Obi-Wan took a few moments to process this. "I take it Anakin wasn't there?"

"No, sir," Flash said, confused.

Obi-Wan sighed. "Dooku must have known they wouldn't get there in time."

"They, sir?" asked Echo.

"Anakin and Cody. I was hoping they'd be able to prevent Ventress' escape."

"At least they're free," said Echo optimistically. "I'm sure General Skywalker will be able to do something."

Flash looked skeptical, but said nothing. Obi-Wan knew what he was thinking, however. Anakin was known for his skill in battle, but even he couldn't take on Dooku and Ventress at the same time – assuming he could get his lightsaber back in the first place.

Just then, Namer groaned, then propped himself up on one elbow. "What . . ."

Flash regarded him for a moment, then reached down and pulled him to his feet, none too gently. "Next time you do that, I'll shoot you myself."

Namer raised an eyebrow at him and did not deign to reply, instead leaning back against the wall and rubbing his forehead.

Obi-Wan waited.

Sure enough, Namer's nonchalance seemed to annoy Flash, who was known for his hot temper. He muttered a few choice words.

"Come on, Flash," said Echo, ever the peacemaker. "It was only a stun round."

"Yeah, but he didn't know that!" The irate clone glared. "I was _fine._ There were only three of 'em!"

Of course, that moment was when he took a step forward and stumbled.

"I think your nose is broken," said Echo helpfully.

Flash growled under his breath, gritted his teeth, and reset his nose with a jerk.

"I suggest you sit down," said Obi-Wan. "And let's think of some way to get out of –"

He stared into space for a moment. The three clones watched him warily.

"Uh – General?" said Echo.

Obi-Wan shook his head, a tinge of exasperation coloring his voice. "Anakin didn't get away at all. He's _here_."

Anakin woke to an odd prickling sensation on his cheek. When he finally managed to force his eyes open, it was to find himself face to face with a tiny, lizard-like creature with long blue antenna that poked at his face. He jerked back, brushing his cheek. "Hey, get off!"

The creature chirped indignantly, then scurried across the stone floor and out through a set of iron bars.

Anakin groaned at the realization that he was, once again_,_ in a cell; then he tried to sit up and groaned again. Everything hurt – well, everything hurt _more_ than it had the last time he woke up.

"Cody?" he grunted, using the wall for support as he got shakily to his feet.

Cody was half-kneeling a few feet away, one hand braced against the wall and the other against the floor. "General Skywalker," he answered, glancing up without moving his head.  
Anakin staggered in place and gave a sympathetic smirk. "You look like Obi-Wan did the last time I flew him to the Temple."

Cody grimaced, his face pale. "Yeah. . . I could use an antiemetic about now."

Standing did not seem to be a good idea, so Anakin slumped back to the ground and ran a hand through his hair. Since there was nothing else to do at the moment, Anakin decided to talk. At least he could keep Cody's mind off his sickness. And his own mind off the fact that his head was about to split open. _Stupid stun batons_.

"We must have been captured by that Twi'lek again," he said aloud. "One of those thugs mentioned Saresh. . ." Then the realization hit him. "If Dooku had us recaptured – Obi-Wan might have let himself be caught for nothing!

Forgetting his weakness, he got up and stumbled to the door. The cell they currently occupied was larger than the last had been, but apart from that he discovered nothing new. There were no guards, and the hallway was completely empty.

Anakin returned to his place and slumped down. "When we get out of here . . ." he muttered, clenching a fist. "He probably _knew_ it was a trap and walked in anyway!"

"Why would he do that, sir?" Cody leaned against the wall, grimaced, and pressed a hand to his mouth.

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out."

". . . Maybe Dooku had nothing to do with it."

"Yeah, right." Anakin paused. "Why do you say that?"

"General Kenobi wouldn't have risked the rest of the men for no reason, sir. He must have thought we'd get back to the _Twilight._"

Anakin may have been feeling uncharitable toward his old master at the moment, but he had to admit that Cody was probably right. "So why does Saresh want us? What good would a Jedi be to him?"

Gesturing at the rank bars on his uniform, Cody said, "Maybe he wants to sell us to the Separatists. A general and a commander –"

"Yeah." Anakin let out his breath quietly. "Upcoming attacks, battle formations, transmission codes. . . They probably think they can get all kinds of information out of us."

Cody replied with casual surety. "They won't, sir."

Anakin huffed and examined the bandage around his left forearm. One thing about the clones – they were always extremely confident in their knowledge of their own abilities and limitations. And they were usually justified in this confidence. But Anakin had seen the results of Separatist interrogations before, and he had no desire to have his or Cody's limits tested.

_ Not like either of us have a choice in the matter_, he thought irritatedly.

Outside, a door hissed open. Footsteps sounded on the stones, drawing nearer.

"Maybe it's Obi-Wan," Anakin suggested.

Cody looked respectfully dubious.

The footsteps stopped, and an accented voice said, "Jedi Skywalker? Ah, good, you're both awake."

"Saresh. No thanks to you."

"I _would_ have killed you," Tar Saresh said apologetically. "But that would have destroyed your usefulness."

Anakin exchanged a grim look with Cody and moved towards the door. "Who paid you to catch us, Saresh?"

"No one, yet." The orange Twi'lek smiled. "I'm sure I'll be able to find a buyer for whoever survives tonight's contests, though."

"_Contests? _What are you talking about?"

"This is the Cauldron, Jedi Skywalker. What did you expect?"

Cody had gotten to his feet by now, and he stepped up beside Anakin. "What, exactly, is the Cauldron?"

"Ah, you _do_ speak!" Tar Saresh looked mildly interested. The commlink on his belt beeped twice, and he drew his gun. "Here come the others. Get back against the wall."

Anakin paced to the opposite wall and leaned against it, followed by Cody.

Tar Saresh opened the door as a small group of people came up behind him. His weapon and his eyes focused steadily on Anakin, who chafed at the forced inaction. The Twi'lek stepped to one side, still watching his prisoners, and two guards forced a clone into the cell. His struggles against the guards stopped when Tar Saresh fired a shot into the floor near Anakin's feet.

Anakin caught sight of a blue mark across one side of the trooper's helmet face plate. "Trap?"

". . . Yes, sir." Trap sounded profoundly displeased.

One of Obi-Wan's troopers was pushed in, and the door shut behind him. Tar Saresh activated a ray shield as he followed the guards down the hall. "I'll return soon."

Anakin glared at his back. "I'm looking forward to it," he muttered.

Cody stepped forward. "Ghost, what happened?"

Ghost – who, like most of the Two-Twelfth troopers, had a regulation haircut and no tattoos – turned to his commanding officer. "We were attacked, sir. Approximately fifty men stormed the walls. Echo and I were on sniper duty. We'd just been ordered to return to the ship when . . ." He glanced questioningly at Trap.

"Eh, the wall exploded," Trap said. "And I got hit right after, so I don't know what happened to the ship. Sorry, sir."

Ghost studied the ray shield for a moment before glancing at Anakin. "General, do you have any idea what's going on?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Anakin said, folding his arms. "There was a large pit in that room Dooku was in. I think this might be an arena."

Cody narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Saresh mentioned contests –"

"Exactly. There were pits just like that on Tatooine. They'd put creatures in them, or combatants. The fights were always a big attraction."  
"Hmm," said Cody. "Sounds. . . interesting."

"That's one way to put it." Anakin paced the room. "And if I'm right, _we're_ going to be the big attraction tonight."

Trap removed his helmet and rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, but against what?"

The Jedi shrugged. "It could be anything, or anyone."  
"We won't be the only ones in there, though," said Ghost. "I saw some of the others before we were brought down here."  
Anakin perked up. "Others?"

"Fives, Det, Waxer, and Boil. They got brought to a different hall, though."

Anakin felt the momentary flash of hope fade. Obi-Wan obviously wasn't with the other prisoners, and while the clones were capable warriors, they wouldn't have a chance against Force-users.

If Ventress was one of the opposing combatants, tonight's _contest_ would turn out to be more of a mass execution. He frowned. If only he had his lightsaber! Perhaps, though . . .

He knelt, bowing his head as he opened his mind to the Force. It still seemed vague and distant, but somewhere at the edge of his mind, he could feel Obi-Wan's presence.

He felt the clones watching him and glanced up. "Do you men have anything useful with you?"

"Just our armor," Trap replied, and Ghost nodded in confirmation.

"Which means that these contests aren't going to be simple hand-to-hand," Cody surmised. "Anything we can do to prepare, General?"

"No," said Anakin grimly. He paused midstride as a thought struck him. "We _could_ try to grab Saresh when he comes to get us. . . But until then, we're stuck here."


	21. Chapter 21

**This chapter is dedicated to GriffTalon, who has reviewed every single chapter of this story. Thanks! :)**

**Small edits made. :)**

Rex crouched just inside the castle gate, studying the busy streets that the clones would have to maneuver through. Dozens of humans and humanoids moved back and forth, interspersed here and there with more unusual species. Three Besalisks left a building just across the road, arguing in deep voices and each gesticulating with four arms at once.

"I'd hate to be grabbed by one of those guys," commented Jesse, from where he was peering out through a sizable crack.

Rex moved back into the shadows, privately thinking the same thing. "Snap, any ideas on how to get through the streets without being seen?"

Snap considered for approximately half a second. "Wait for the sun to set."  
"Yeah. . ." Rex gave him a wry look. "Except, in a place like this, the streets might be busier during the night."

"We could keep to the side streets and alleyways," Gadget suggested. "I'll work out a route while we're waiting."

"You have the city schematics?"

"Yes, sir. Commander Cody had me pull a copy from the local network before landing."

_That sounds like the commander. _Rex glanced up at the sun, calculating. Rattatak had a rotation of thirty-five standard hours, which meant they still had at least seven hours to wait. But they couldn't stay here; the courtyard was too exposed. He turned to the castle, and the others followed his gaze.

Jesse hummed thoughtfully. "It _is _the last place they'd expect us to be. . ."

"Let's check it out," Rex decided.

Snap moved to the gate and leaned against it, peering cautiously out. A moment later, he brought one hand down in a sharp gesture, and Gadget and Jesse broke from cover, running across the sand to the wide open front doors. Rex and Kix followed, then Snap. After a final glance behind them, they slipped into the wide, cool hallway.

No one was in sight. After a moment, Rex lowered his pistol. "There shouldn't be anyone here, but stay close. Let's see what we can do while waiting."

* * * * *

The commandos climbed quietly up the shaft behind General Fisto. They were halfway to the top when Thirty-Eight braced himself against the shaft's durasteel wall and signaled a pause. It would be best if they knew the situation on the first level before entering it.

He was about to check his sensors when the general gestured urgently for his attention. "Sergeant! Hurry! Climb quickly!"

Boss swung away from the wall and kicked off the stone, retracting his cable more rapidly. "Move it, Deltas."

"Large heat signature approaching," said Fixer.

From below the two of them, Scorch snorted. "I _really _didn't want to know that. . ."

Boss came to a halt beside the general, who had paused just a few meters beneath the opening that led to what had been Grievous' storage room. The Nautolan held his cable with one hand, and his lightsaber with the other; he looked ready to spring into action at any instant.

Fixer joined them. Scorch had just passed the opening to the second level. Sev was centimeters behind him – and, in the opening next to him, something moved. Boss switched on night vision and raised his gun.

"Behind you, Oh-Seven," Fixer said urgently.

Boss waited. He didn't have a clear shot, but in a few seconds. . .

The two commandos kept moving, Sev detaching something from his belt as he steadied the cable with one hand. "Move it," he growled at Scorch. "I'll need some room."

Sev came to a halt, allowing Scorch to take larger jumps.

The thing in the doorway moved again. A huge arm reached into the shaft, groping upward. Four clawed fingers closed on empty air, scraping against the opposite wall, before feeling their way upward.

Boss aimed past the sniper's head. "Sev –"

"I've got this, sir." Sev kicked the wall, then swung to brace against the opposite corner.

The claws moved in the direction of the noise. Sev carefully tossed a sonic at one of them, then retracted his cable at a dangerous speed, coming to a halt right before he would have slammed into Fixer.

The sonic detonated, and the walls of the shaft seemed to bow inward for a moment. The hand, now missing one of the long claws, was jerked back, and the monster let out a strange, screaming roar.

It finally faded. There was a long moment of silence, and then they heard the sound of heavy footsteps gradually drawing farther away. Fixer tilted his head in a way that meant he was analyzing something. "It has six legs?"

"No," said Scorch, clipping his gun onto his belt. "It has two legs, and four arms. And the arms all have claws twice the length of the hands."

Sev glanced down again. "Any idea what it is?"

"Must be some sort of subterranean creature," Fixer guessed.

"Whatever it is, it's gone for now," Boss said calmly, steering the conversation back to the mission. "We'll stay here a moment. Let's figure out what the situation is on the first level. Fixer, try and locate Advisor's transmission signature."

"Yes, Three-Eight."  
"Sergeant," the general said in a low voice. "If we find Grievous, I will keep him busy while you complete the mission. If I can keep him inside long enough, we might be able to bring this place down on top of him."

"Roger that, General."

"Sir," said Fixer. "I can't locate Advisor's transmitter, but there are droid signatures in the supply room. One of them registers as a droid _and _a biological."

"Grievous," said General Fisto, clenching his lightsaber. "How many droids?"

"Ten, sir, all across the room from the shaft."

Boss considered. They wouldn't have the element of surprise for more than a couple of seconds. Ten B1s wouldn't be a problem, but ten supers –

"I'll go first," he said, glancing at the general for permission. "Let's see what we're up against."

General Fisto nodded. Boss grabbed onto Sev's cable for a moment, freeing and then reattaching his own so that it wouldn't tangle with the others.

Climbing hand over hand, he made his way up and peered carefully over the top. It was hard to see anything over the wreckage of the supply shelves and replacement limbs, and the opposite doorway was mostly blocked from view, but he could see three droids.

He climbed back down. "At least three are supers," he said. "I think one of us should be able to get up without being seen. I'll throw a few EC's; that should keep them occupied. Scorch – anti-armor."

"You got it, Boss." Scorch quickly switched to the dumbfire weapon's attachment, then readjusted his cable.

Before either of them had taken more than a step, a harsh voice echoed down to them. "Activate my MagnaGuards! We must find and kill the Jedi!"

"That's Grievous!" General Fisto hissed.

He climbed swiftly to the top, and Boss and Scorch followed, coming to a halt just below the edge.

The Separatist general was still speaking. "Fisto is here. _You_ are going to tell me what he is doing."

To Thirty-Eight's surprise, Advisor, his voice a little hoarse, answered, "You'll be waiting a long time."

"Oh, I don't think so! Droid!"

A robotic voice spoke in a prissy, sing-song tone. "I would answer, if I were you."

"Running thermal scan," Fixer said. "He's just inside the opposite doorway." Boss put the EC detonator back in his belt. _Time for a new plan_. "General, can you take down those supers?"

"Easily," the Nautolan replied. He hesitated for just an instant before saying, "You'll need to distract Grievous for a few seconds, though."

"Okay. Scorch, I want an anti-armor round against the adjacent wall. Give the general an opening. I think I'll go talk to Grievous."

There was a half-second of stunned silence. "Sir –" Fixer stopped as Advisor let out a sharp yell.

General Grievous coughed loudly. "Where is Fisto?"

"CC Oh-One slash Four-Two-Five," Advisor muttered.

_"Where is Fisto?" _

Boss pointed two fingers at the first level entrance. "Let's move, Deltas."

Scorch climbed out, staying on his knees, and turned to pull Boss up. The other two commandos crouched beneath the pile of twisted metal that took up the center of the room. General Fisto knelt beside them, lightsaber out.

When everyone was in position, Scorch fired a round against the far wall. Almost before it exploded, Boss had moved in the opposite direction and was stepping into the open.

Ten super battle droids marched hurriedly in the direction of the explosion. Behind them, just inside the doorway, Advisor was on his hands and knees; his eyes widened as he caught sight of Thirty-Eight. A medical droid stood nearby, and Grievous loomed over them both.

"Grievous," said Boss in a neutral tone. "Do you like the way we rearranged your supplies?"

"Well! A clone _commando_." Grievous drew two lightsabers, peering suspiciously from side to side. "Where is your squad?"

Boss lifted one hand casually and let it fall back to his side. "What makes you think I have one?"

Grievous' yellow eyes narrowed. Thirty-Eight whipped his gun to his shoulder and fired a quick burst. The cyborg jumped aside, two new limbs unfolding from his arms, and coughed violently. The armor on one side of his face plate had been peeled away.

He leapt forward, lightsabers slashing viciously, one after the other. Boss dodged to the right, ducked back around the metal racks, dropped to the floor, and fired his ascension cable into the wall opposite. Grievous' full weight hit the cable, and Boss nearly lost his hold on the blaster. He detached the cable and rolled aside, out of range of Fixer's EC grenade.

With a growl of fury, Grievous jumped onto the wall, clinging to it like a spider. The waves of pulsing electricity missed him, but the sniper round Sev fired did not. Reeling from the layered attack, Grievous retreated along the wall.

"Keep at him, squad!" Fixer called, running forward.

The medical droid squeaked in alarm. "Master, look! A Jedi!"

A flash of motion on the other side of the room caught Boss' attention and he stopped short. "Hold it, Deltas!"

The Jedi Master slashed his way through the last super battle droid and called with a grin, "Grievous! I thought you were looking for me?"

Grievous drew four lightsabers and ignited them, one after the other. "_Fisto. . ._ I hoped you would return! I will kill you the way I killed your Jedi friend!"

General Fisto paced forward, his mouth set in a grim line; then he flung one hand forward. A small hold-out blaster flew into his hand from behind Grievous' back, and the Jedi smiled darkly. "I think not."

Grievous slowly spun all four lightsabers, increasing his speed until they were mere blurs of light and color.

Scorch stared at the spinning blades and lowered his gun slightly. "Umm."

"We've got to get to the doorway," Boss said. "Let's give General Fisto an opening."

Sev took a step to the left and put a shot in Grievous' knee joint.

The Jedi lunged forward. "Get to the doors!"

"Sir, we've got incoming," Fixer reported quickly.

Thirty-Eight ran around the back of the room, the others following closely. As he rounded the corner of the storage rack, he caught sight of Advisor, still kneeling just inside the doorway. The odd-looking medical droid watched the lightsaber duel, bouncing up and down and letting out inarticulate noises of excitement.

"That med droid is – strange," Sev said, sounding disturbed. He aimed, but before he could fire, Advisor had drawn a thin vibroblade from behind his back, lurched forward, and severed the medical droid's head neatly.

_Well, _that _was unexpected. _

Rapid metallic footsteps sounded outside, and Boss pointed to the hall. "Oh-Seven, Six-Two, clear a path."

They ran to either side of the door, firing as they moved. Red lasers flew between them, spattering and pinging against the metal walls. Boss kicked the remains of the med droid aside, grabbed Advisor's arms, and hauled him out of the line of fire. "Do you have the data?" he demanded.

Advisor shook his head. "I hid it in the control room."

Boss glanced at the Jedi, who was a blur of motion as he attacked Grievous. "Fixer, take point. General. We're heading for the control room."

At first he thought he hadn't been heard, but then the Jedi leapt into the air and backflipped, landing a few feet away from the commandos. He twirled his lightsaber hilt around one hand, rebalancing himself as Grievous charged. "I'll cover you. Hurry!"

Fixer was already halfway down the hall, Sev and Scorch flanking him. Boss was just starting after them when he realized that the other clone had stopped and was leaning heavily against the wall. He turned back. "Advisor, we're running out of time!"

Advisor hesitated, then replied in his usual matter-of-fact tone. "That droid injected me with something. Get to the control room. The data is hidden inside the new power core's casing."

Clanking sounded at the door as a lone droid wandered in, late to the battle. Boss absently put a few rounds through its metallic brain while checking over his shoulder for enemies. Keeping half his attention on the sounds of the duel behind him, he drew his pistol and handed it to Advisor. "We need to move fast," he said, putting his free hand beneath the other's elbow. "You'd better not pass out."

Advisor gave a wry grimace and shoved himself away from the wall. "Understood, Thirty-Eight." 

**Please consider leaving a review! And then, after you consider it, decide to leave a review. And then review. :D **


	22. Chapter 22

**Hello to all you readers! I owe you a major apology for the ridiculous amount of time it took me to update this story. . . I'm sorry to say, I got rather distracted by reading Sherlock Holmes. . . :] And I found it impossible to write CW while reading SH. Not my fault. At all.**

**Actually, yes it is. BUT I am now pretty sure I've got a workable outline for the rest of this story, and besides. I watched a couple of clips from Season 7, which helped with inspiration. :) Because this is a filler chapter, it might be a little rough. Just bear with me as I get back into the feel of Clone Wars. **

* * *

Rex led the others down the hallway, their boots clacking against the polished wood. As he had expected, the castle was almost completely abandoned. A few Twi'leks and humans, presumably servants, remained, but the clones had been able to avoid detection without effort. They were nearing the last room on the upper floor of the castle when Rex paused. The wooden door ahead of them was ajar.

Jesse slipped by him, kicked it open and stepped in before the door could bounce closed. "No one here."

"Well, look at this," Snap said, gesturing at the computer station in the corner of the large room. "Everything's up and running. We can probably do some damage from here."

"Yeah," said Rex. "But first we're doing some reconnaissance."

Their careful search turned up only one camera, which Gadget promptly dropped on the floor and crushed. Rex checked the hallway one more time and shut the door.

"As long as we're quiet, we should be fine," he said, taking off his helmet. "Jesse, what've we got?"

Jesse, who was tapping away at the computer station, looked up. "Not much. This seems to be for the servants' use. Supply orders, duty roster . . . And it looks like Ventress sends a notification to the servants whenever she plans on staying at the castle."

"Well, that's useless," Snap said, nudging him aside and pulling up a different screen. "Hmm, no outward communications enabled through this terminal. We can change that. . . Captain, do you want us to try contacting General Kenobi?"

"Not through there. Ventress might have lousy security, but she's probably got some way of tracing system usage."

"Yeah." Snap smirked. "Though she'll be out cold for at least another hour, thanks to your medic."

Kix, on the other side of the room, gingerly removed his vambrace and dropped it beside his gauntlet. "Don't count on it. I've seen Jedi burn through sedatives before."

He glanced up at Rex, a glint of humor entering his eyes. Rex gave him a pointed look. Yes, General Skywalker had tried sneaking out of med bay once too often. Yes, he had been shocked to discover that Kix had figured out his little Force-trick and given him a double dosage.

Rex felt his lips twitch. General Skywalker had shouted in disbelief, horrified. _"All that time wasted _sleeping!_ We have missions to plan, Kix!"_ Kix, confident in his authority as company medic, had been respectfully unrepentant. General Kenobi had stood smugly on the sidelines, quietly approving – at least, until he saw the 212th medic standing by, his expression interested as he filed away what he'd just learned about Force-users.

Snap and Gadget were glancing between Kix and Jesse, probably hoping for the story behind their grins, so Rex cleared his throat purposefully. "Better see to that wrist, Kix. Snap, you're on lookout duty."

He moved to the computer and stared at the screen for a long moment. "Any way we can secure this?"

"Not without setting off an alert," Snap replied, and Gadget nodded.

Jesse tapped his fingers thoughtfully against his gun. "Couldn't the _Twilight _safely access the local network?"

"Good idea." After a moment's consideration, Rex switched his commlink's scramble set and ordered the others to do the same. It was a safe bet that the captive clones no longer had their commlinks, which meant the pirates would be listening in. He waited until the indicator blinked green. "_Twilight, _come in. This is Captain Rex."

A few seconds of silence passed before a distinctive voice replied. "Oddball here, Captain."

"We're in the castle. What's your position?"

"Three clicks east of the city. The spaceport officials contacted us. We had to leave the atmosphere or land. Airspace hazard."

Well, that at least made some amount of sense. Not enough, though. "Keep your eyes open," Rex said. "They know the Republic's here, now."

"Will do, sir. Have you located the others?"

"I'm not sure." Rex waved Gadget over. The younger clone had already opened the city schematics and zoomed in on the large building near the castle.

"Want me to patch it through, sir?" he asked.

Rex nodded and turned back to his commlink. "We need to know what this building is used for."

"One moment." The transmission cut off.

Kix had finished strapping his wrist up and was returning his supplies to his medic's pack. Rex ordered everyone to see to their blasters – the sand might not harm them, but then again, there was no point in taking chances.

He was reassembling his first pistol when the commlink beeped, and he answered immediately. "What'd you find out, Oddball?"

"Captain, that building is known as the Cauldron. It's a public arena. Wooley's been sweeping the channels for –"

Someone interrupted him. There was a hurried conversation, then Wooley's voice broke in. "Captain Rex. Better listen to this, sir. An announcement from some Twi'lek named Tar Saresh. He's listed as owner of the Cauldron."

The other four clones stilled abruptly, looking up. The commlink fizzled with static for a moment, and then a voice spoke. "My fellow citizens! I am pleased to announce that a special event will take place tonight at eleven hours. The Cauldron has never had such dangerous guests before! Two Jedi were captured today by Asajj Ventress. These Jedi were leading Republic troops – _Republic troops! – _into Heela, invading our territory despite their promises of neutrality!"

Gadget, looking confused, glanced from Snap to Rex. Jesse leaned forward, fully focused on the accented voice.

"Count Dooku has generously agreed that they will be dealt with according to Rattatakian tradition. The Jedi and their men have been condemned!"

The voice cut off in a wild burst of cheering – obviously prerecorded, and rather sloppily – and then that sound vanished, to be replaced with Wooley's voice. "That was aired not five minutes ago, sir."

Jesse stood up. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know," Rex replied after a moment. "Wooley, we need all the information you can get. Find out what's going to happen tonight and give me a timeframe."

"Copy that, sir."

Again the transmission cut off.

Rex dismantled his second pistol and began meticulously cleaning each piece. He was aware that the others were waiting for some sort of direction, but he wasn't sure what the best course of action would be.

He frowned. He wasn't even sure what the options were. They couldn't get to the Cauldron until dark. They couldn't try to contact the prisoners. Even if they could, getting past Ventress, Grievous, and Dooku was a little much. Sending the _Twilight _out of atmosphere to contact General Kenobi's cruiser might be an option, but what could the men on the _Negotiator _do?

Well . . . besides storming the Cauldron. But pulling more Republic troops into a city where the indigenous population seemed fully able and willing to attack – no.

Rex got to his feet, holstering his gun, and glanced over the men. Jesse and Snap were arguing about something involving security codes, Gadget was fidgeting with his datapad, and Kix was watching Rex, who raised an eyebrow at him.

Kix got up and joined him, speaking in a low voice. "Rex, we've pulled off some pretty crazy things before, but this. . . What are we going to do?"

"I don't know. Yet. But whatever we do, we're on our own."

Gadget had heard them. "There are only five of us."

"Five of us, five men on a shuttle," corrected Jesse, suddenly breaking off his argument with Snap in favor of the new conversation. "_And _however many men we can get out of that prison."

Snap gave him an unimpressed look. "Come on. I know you guys jump in headfirst, but this is a little much."

"He's right," Rex said, interrupting Jesse's retort. "We don't have enough intel."

The silence stretched out for several minutes. Rex was about to order Gadget to take up guard position, just to give the kid something to do, when the commlink beeped again. The clones gathered in the center of the room as Rex answered the call.

"Wooley?"

"It's Boomer this time," his sergeant answered. "Wooley's running scans. I've got a preliminary report, though."

"Let's hear it."

"It looks like 'Rattatakian tradition' is that the citizens kill the condemned in combat, with weapons of their choice. The holovid we found – it wasn't really a fight, more of an execution."

"And the citizens want to go up against two Jedi?"

"Guess they're mad enough to," Boomer answered. "You should see the betting odds right now."

Jesse shook his head. "Money or not, _I _wouldn't want to get smashed through a wall by an angry Jedi. That doesn't make any sense."

"It does when two people with lightsabers will be present," Wooley's voice cut in. "I just found out that both Dooku and Ventress will be present at tonight's games."

"No mention of Grievous?"

"None. I've been looking for his ship – it's not registered in any of the spaceports."

"Doesn't mean he's not here," mused Rex. "But at least he doesn't seem to be an immediate problem."

Force knew, they had more than enough 'immediate problems' as it was. But, for the moment, there was nothing to do but wait. Judging from previous experiences, Rex knew that it was going to be a long and tiresome wait. He gestured to the men. "At ease. Tonight won't be any picnic. Get some rest while you can."

Rex sat back against the wall, staring at Gadget's datapad as reports came in from Wooley. The data confirmed his thought that they needed help. And he knew of only one team nearby who might, possibly, get to Rattatak in time to save the generals.

"Wooley," he said, with a mental sigh. "Get ready to send an encrypted message to Vassek III."

**I'd love to hear any guesses you might have on what the heck is going to happen next. ;) Again, thanks to all of you - especially to those who were kind enough to nudge me along by sending, shall we say, pointed reviews. So pointed, in fact, that they were on the verge of being downright sharp. ;) **


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey, guys! How's everyone doing? Hopefully this chapter takes your mind off your worries (or boredom) and takes you to a different world (read: galaxy far, far away) for a few minutes. ;D**

**Before you start reading this, I've posted a link on my profile to the music that I used while writing this chapter, in case you're interested. It is very appropriate, since it's a compilation of the themes from Republic Commando. :)**

* * *

Grievous' howl of fury followed Kit Fisto as he raced down the hall to the control room. The Jedi general tried not to grin, but the memory of Grievous being flattened beneath a huge storage shelf. . . He chuckled. It was unfortunate that his droid hadn't been there to take a holocam.

He skidded around the corner and into the control room. The commando sergeant swung around, but lowered his rifle when he saw who it was. "General Fisto. Where's Grievous?"

"At the moment, he's under a storage shelf."

"He's still alive?" Fixer twisted the power core and pried open the casing at one end.

"Unfortunately. He called in his MagnaGuards and I had to retreat." Kit Fisto swung his lightsaber and turned to Delta Thirty-Eight. "Sergeant, we don't have much time."

"Roger that. Advisor, do we still have access to the systems?"

"I can get it back." Advisor stumbled to the keypad, pushing his blaster rifle, which had been cut through, to the floor. "General Fisto, should I lock down this level?"

A sudden sense of danger flashed across his mind. "We're out of time. I'll take care of it."

"I've got the data, sir." Fixer held up the computer chip.

Kit Fisto stepped over a MagnaGuard that had been shot through the head, reached past Advisor, and stabbed his lightsaber through the power core.

Scorch leaned over to inspect the damage and hummed his approval. "Man, I wish I had one of those."

Fixer visibly flinched at this, and Sev growled, "Not a chance."

"Hall's clear," reported the sergeant from the doorway. "Form up, Deltas. General?"

"I'll lead the way."

Advisor retrieved his helmet from beneath the console and put it on. "Stay alert. I'm picking up a lot of activity outside."

Kit Fisto started down the hall at a run just as a low, cavernous bellow vibrated through the walls. He glanced over his shoulder. "That creature is close by."

The sergeant huffed. "I never would have guessed."

* * *

Boss signaled for a halt and stepped to the left, gaining a clear view to the main entrance of Grievous' lair. The huge stone doors were wide open, and there were no visible guards.

"This has _got_ to be a trap," Fixer said.

Scorch snickered. "Come on, Fixer. Be optimistic. Maybe Grievous wants us to leave and he's making it easy for us."

"This side corridor leads to the northern landing pad," General Fisto said, narrowing his eyes. "Can the shuttle be reached from there?"

Boss considered, remembering how the landscape had looked from the cockpit as they landed. "Yes, once we reach the canyon floor."

"Very well, Sergeant. Take your men by that route and get the shuttle ready for flight. I'll go this way." He gestured at the main landing pad and flashed a grin.

Thirty-Eight raised an eyebrow, then turned and waved for his men to fall in. On General Fisto's head be it if there were too many droids for him to handle alone. . . To be fair, he had managed very efficiently so far. Too bad he hadn't impaled Grievous, though.

A sealed door at the end of the hall brought them to a stop. Scorch pulled out a breach charge and slapped it into place. "Clear!"

The explosion forced the doors apart, and Sev shouldered his way through the gap, firing a steady stream of lasers. Boss moved to his left, systematically clearing the landing pad of battle droids, ignoring the return fire that skimmed his armor. As usual, by the time the droids' tracking systems had caught up with the commandos' movements, there were only one or two left that posed even a slight threat.

Boss smirked. _A little relaxation's always nice._

The other three commandos spread out, and Boss clipped his blaster to his belt and cast a quick glance over his shoulder at the empty hall.

"All clear," Sev reported, from where he and Fixer stood, beside a starfighter of an unfamiliar model.

"Hm. I take it that's Grievous' ship."

"Yes, sir." Fixer tapped the hull with the back of his hand. "It looks like a modified Bellbulab-22. Atmospheric speed of ten or eleven hundred kilometers per hour."

"That sounds fun," Scorch said.

"All right, Deltas." Boss pulled out his last thermal. "Let's not leave it undamaged."

Advisor caught at his wrist. "The scans Commander Cody sent indicate that the hull is covered in impervium."

Boss disarmed the grenade and waited for an explanation, but Advisor was busy studying the ship. "Fixer?"

"It's impenetrable to small-arms fire," explained the technician. "Very rare, very expensive."

"Grenades won't harm it," Advisor said. "Not from outside. Advise you plant a few thermals in the fuel tank instead."

"Oh." Scorch sounded reverent, which probably meant he was visualizing the destruction ahead. "Boss?"

"Get to it." Thirty-Eight stood back and kept watch while Scorch opened the fuel intake valve and shoved it full of explosives. At the outer edge of the platform, Fixer disarmed a mine and Sev shot out two security cameras.

Boss glanced at the hall behind him again. It was still empty, so why did he feel like some threat was looming just out of sight? _Probably because it is. _

"All set," Scorch called. "I've left a thermal exposed for detonation."

"Platform's clear, sir," Fixer said.

"Fix cables," he ordered, approaching the edge. "Advisor?"

The other clone seemed to hesitate as he glanced down at the canyon floor, some fifty meters below.

Scorch sauntered by and attached his own cable. "It's like going up, but easier."

"Just don't let go," Sev added, readying his sniper rifle against one shoulder.

Advisor regarded them coldly.

"Sev," said Boss, ignoring their antics. "Fire on my signal."

He signaled for Fixer and Scorch to jump, swung around to brace his feet on the platform's edge, and glanced at Advisor, who gave him a short nod. They kicked off, swinging to a halt a dozen feet below. "Okay, Sev. Light it up."

Sev jumped backward off the platform, firing a single shot in mid-air. The roar of the resultant explosion sent a vibration through their ascension cables, and a wave of light and heat blasted over their heads. The clones ducked against the cliff face as a large hunk of Grievous' prized starfighter whizzed past.

Clinging to his cable with one hand, Boss put two fingers to his helmet in a casual salute as the rest of the ship slid, crashing and clanging, to the canyon floor below. It was several long seconds before the echoing racket died away.

Scorch snickered. "So much for the _Soulless One._ Hey, Boss, why do you suppose the ship is called that?"

Sev chuckled in his low voice. "Grievous named it after himself."

Boss kicked off again, keeping a sharp lookout on the cliff wall to either side.

"General Soulless One," mused Scorch. "Sev, you ever wonder if –"

"Cut the chatter," Fixer said.

Advisor jumped the last few feet, stumbled, and almost fell to his knees. Thirty-Eight motioned for Sev to take point just as General Fisto's voice came through the comms. He sounded out of breath, but calm. "I assume that explosion was caused by you?"

"Yes, sir. Grievous' fighter is out of commission."

The hum and clash of meeting lightsabers cut off General Fisto's next few words, and he spoke faster. " – bring it to my position, we can –"

A faint, familiar voice broke in. "Not so fast, _Jedi._"

"Ah." Boss switched his rifle to sniper mode. "Grievous found the general."

As they ran over the uneven rock, dodging loose rubble and weathered boulders every few meters, Boss mapped out his strategy. "General Fisto," he said. "If you can hear me, we're headed for the shuttle. We'll rendezvous with you shortly."

He glanced at his companions. "Advisor."

Delta Squad's tactical coordinator stumbled again, but nodded. "I'll take off and hover a few meters from the landing platform."

"Roger that. Sev, take position on the boarding ramp and provide the general with cover. Scorch, Fixer, be prepared to move in if necessary."

They rounded a sharp bend, and there was the shuttle, the doors still sealed. Fixer sent rapid commands on his datapad, lowering the boarding ramp as the clones rushed towards it. Advisor, still holding Boss' pistol, ran up it as Scorch keyed the entrance code into the cargo bay door manifest.

The door sprang open and a droid leapt out, stabbing viciously. Advisor crumpled, and Scorch only barely avoided a second blow from the humming vibrosword.

"Cover!" shouted Boss, lunging forward.

Scorch ducked aside, and Thirty-Eight grabbed the droid by the neck and twisted, forcing it out of the doorway. He jabbed his own vibroblade between its photoreceptors just as Fixer fired over his shoulder, incapacitating a second droid that had slipped up behind him. A third and fourth flipped through the air and landed at the far end of the boarding ramp, each holding a long blade out to the side. They communicated with each other in low, guttural tones, their yellow eyes focusing on the commandos.

"Fixer." Boss jerked his head toward the cockpit. "Six-Two, give him cover. Sev, clear the ship."

"Those droids look like they're good at close combat," Fixer warned as he hurried inside, followed by the other two.

Thirty-Eight, who had no intention of getting near those vibroswords, armed an EC detonator and dropped it at his feet. It rolled down the boarding ramp. The droids were too stupid to move in time, and the burst of blue electricity fried their circuits as neatly as any others. He turned to check on Advisor, who had pushed himself up and was aiming his pistol almost at Boss' face.

Boss spun around. A fifth droid was perched on the ship above him like an Utapaun rock-vulture, vibrosword aimed for his neck. He had barely stepped back when Advisor sent four precise shots into its head, and it clattered to the ground.

The ship vibrated and the engines rumbled to life. Boss kicked the droid's skeletal figure off the ramp. "Ship clear, Oh-Seven?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. Taking position."

"On our way, General," Thirty-Eight reported, pulling Advisor up and glancing at the bloody slash in his chest plate. "Get to the med station."

"Wait, Sergeant!" General Fisto's voice sounded sharply in his ears. "I'm afraid we're in trouble."

"Boss!" exclaimed Scorch. "The general!"

Thirty-Eight sprang to the end of the ramp and looked up.

The small figure of the Jedi Master stood at the edge of the cliff just beneath the landing pad, some fifty meters above the shuttle. He vaulted into the air, soaring toward the ground as though flying were something he did every day. As he neared the ground, he somersaulted and slowed inexplicably, coming to a gentle landing. Immediately he was sprinting up the boarding ramp, shouting, "Take us up!"

He pivoted upon reaching the cargo door, standing with his lightsaber at the ready, and Sev and Scorch flanked him, standing precariously close to either edge.

Fixer's yell of alarm was punctuated by a dull _clang _as something heavy slammed into the shuttle, rocking it and nearly sending it veering into the cliff wall. A moment later, Fixer had the ship – and his voice – under control again. "Boss, we've got something throwing boulders at the ship."

Scorch sighed loudly. "Figures."

"It's that creature," General Fisto explained, balancing easily. "Grievous called it a darkghast."

Thirty-Eight loaded an anti-armor round into his gun and dropped to one knee, bracing himself against one of the struts. A rock flashed past him and bounced off the ship, and Boss followed its trajectory back to the source. The darkghast was _crawling _headfirst down the cliff face. Four powerful upper limbs and two lower ones propelled it easily from ledge to ledge. Its armored hide was mottled black and grey, and there were strange, rust-colored hourglass shapes on the head and upper back.

"Where does Grievous get these things?" Boss demanded.

Even as he took in its appearance, it dug its claws into the rock and tore out a sizable piece. With a challenging roar, it flung the boulder.

Boss fired instinctively, exploding the rock before it could hit the shuttle. "Fixer, get us out of here."

"Working on it."

The Jedi stood at the very edge of the boarding ramp, put away his lightsaber, and lifted both hands. "It's getting ready to jump," he warned.

"Deltas." Advisor's voice cut into the comms. "That creature is ten meters in length."

"And the shuttle is twenty," Scorch finished unhelpfully.

Delta Thirty-Eight loaded another shell. "Six-Two, get inside and get on the guns."

Scorch ran back inside, but Boss could still hear his gleeful muttering. "Time to use a _real _weapon."

Sev braced an elbow against Boss' shoulder and leveled his sniper rifle as the ship swerved again. "Whenever you're ready, sir."

They fired simultaneously. The darkghast roared, flinging up both sets of arms like some strange scorpion.

General Fisto put up his hands, as though he were forbidding the creature to move, just as it jumped.

Boss jerked back.

Ten feet from the ship, the darkghast came to a full stop, still in mid-air. Two arms slashed at the ship. Sev fell, catching at the strut with one hand. Boss threw himself flat, both to keep his balance and to reach Sev. General Fisto nearly fell off, but caught his balance at the last second and twisted, swinging his hands to the side.

The darkghast was flung back into the cliff wall.

"Accelerating," warned Fixer.

As Sev and Boss pulled themselves up and moved back to the door, Scorch sent a flurry of laser fire directly at the creature.

"Get yourselves inside," Advisor said. "We've cleared the surface."

Boss followed the general into the ship. As he retracted the boarding ramp, he cast a last look at the darkghast. It was still moving, chasing after them despite the heavy lasers that pummeled it.

"We're out of range of the explosives now, sir," Fixer said.

"Excellent." Boss moved to the viewport, slipped the detonator from his belt and pressed it with a deep sense of satisfaction. Fixer brought the shuttle around in a tight curve as the forbidding structure that had been Grievous' stronghold shivered once, twice, and then collapsed in on itself.

It was spectacular.

General Fisto spoke. "Well done, commandos! We won't know if Grievous escaped that for some time, but he'll never use that fortress again."

_If he does, he'll be using it as a grave, _Boss thought. He replaced the detonator, hooked his gun on his belt, and stood in the center of the empty cargo bay for a long moment. "Deltas, report."

"Six-Two here. Another successful mission, Deltas!"

"Oh-Seven reporting. No enemy fighters on scanners. . . Too bad."

"Delta Four-Oh reporting. We're exiting the atmosphere."

"Acknowledged." Boss removed his helmet and set it on the storage rack before heading out to the small med bay. "Advisor?"

A medical droid turned to look at him. "I believe that the injured clone is now in the cockpit, with the others."

Thirty-Eight headed forward, wondering, yet again, why medical droids had been programmed to speak so formally.

The air shifted almost imperceptibly as the shuttle entered hyperspace, and Boss entered the cockpit to see the familiar blue-white streaks of light flowing past the viewing ports. Sev and Scorch were slouched at either side of the door, Fixer was standing up from the pilot's seat, and Advisor was at the navigation/comms station.

General Fisto, in the co-pilot's seat, turned to Boss. "We've started back to the Endor system. If General Kenobi has already completed his mission, his flagship will be waiting for us there."

Advisor glanced up. "The _Negotiator's _at Endor, all right. I'm receiving a signal from them – transmission sent one standard hour ago."

Scorch huffed. "Which means they won."

"Wait." General Fisto moved to look over Advisor's shoulder. "It was transmitted through the _Negotiator_, not from it."

Advisor hesitated an instant, as though surprised that he'd made an error. "Yes, sir, it originated from the _Twilight._ Decrypting now."

There was a burst of static, and then a familiar voice spoke. _"General Fisto, this is Sergeant Boomer, CT Two-Two-Oh-Seven, speaking for Captain Rex. Count Dooku is in the city. We captured Ventress, but she was rescued. Generals Kenobi and Anakin have been captured, along with Commander Cody and nine of our men. No known casualties as of yet."_

Boomer paused for a moment, and his voice took on a wry tone. _"We need your help, sir. The citizens are up in arms, and Captain Rex has decided against bringing in reinforcements from the _Negotiator _for fear of starting a city-wide riot."_

General Fisto nodded approvingly, his expression intent.

_"The _Twilight _seems to have escaped enemy notice for the moment. We've landed three klicks east of the capital and will wait for further orders. Captain Rex and four men are inside the castle."_

Another voice murmured in the background, and Boomer cleared his throat. _"One other thing. The captain recommends you get here fast. Generals Kenobi and Skywalker and the men have been condemned to die in the arena tonight. The holonet calls it the 'Cauldron'. Both Count Dooku and Ventress will be there. No further word of Grievous as of yet, bur we'll keep our eyes open and do everything we can from this end. Sergeant Boomer out."_

The transmission cut off, and Advisor leaned slowly back.

"How'd _that _happen?" asked Scorch.

General Fisto blinked slowly. "I'm sure listening to their sequence of events will prove to be interesting. Fixer, take us out of hyperspace."

"Yes, sir."

"Laying in a course for Rattatak," Advisor said.

Sev pulled off his helmet, revealing the jagged scar that ran from his right cheekbone to the back of his neck. "We got a few hours till planetfall?"

"Three and a half hours," said Fixer.

"Right." Boss glanced around at them. "You've got three hours to rest up. Report back here at eighteen thirty hours."

"Oh, good." Scorch popped the seals on his helmet and removed it with an exaggerated sigh of relief. "I could do with a cup of caf or three. Anyone else?"

Boss took a moment to reflect on the wisdom of letting Scorch – or Sev, for that matter – at the supply of caf before what was likely to be a stealth mission. A stealth mission to effect the rescue of two Jedi generals and a group of clones from an arena guarded by a couple of lightsaber-wielding Sith in a crowded city full of hostile civilians. "I'll join you shortly," he told them.

They headed for the galley. Fixer followed them, stopping on the way to glance down at Advisor. "Sir. Recommend you relocate to the med bay."

"Opinion noted, Four-Oh." Advisor got stiffly to his feet. "Delta Lead. For future reference, those droids were commando droids. Fast-moving and programmed for close-range fighting; armed with vibroswords; tough armor."

Boss nodded. "We'll look into the specs later."

General Fisto gazed out into the dizzying swirl of hyperspace. "Sergeant," he said, glancing over his shoulder. "I will contact the Jedi Council and update them on both missions. You and your squad did an excellent job today."

"Thank you, general." He turned to leave and paused. "We'll have to do a better job than that to complete this next mission."

"Indeed." General Fisto smirked. "But we already won the bet."

* * *

**Yes, General Fisto . . . you're going to remind Anakin of that for a long time to come, aren't you . . . ? :D**

**If you've got time, could you let me know a couple of things. One: who is your favorite commando? (or Advisor, he counts too!). Also, was the action easy to follow in this chapter? I rewrote it a few times, and I can't see the forest for the trees now. :D Thanks a lot! **

**Also, let's give credit where credit is due. I was working hard on this chapter and not getting anywhere, until GriffTalon suggested I write my ideas and storylines and whatnot down in a notebook. Seeing as how I already have a composition book _full _of notes for this story, I followed her advice and then read all my previous ideas. It helped a great deal to consolidate things. :) **


	24. Chapter 24

**Back to Rex's POV in this chapter. Thanks so much for the reviews, guys! I probably don't need to tell you how much of a motivator that is. :)**

Rex stared out the window at the faint orange and gold sunset, just visible over the tops of the flat-roofed buildings that surrounded the castle. It was beautiful, in a distant, quiet sort of way.

Angry shouts sounded from a warehouse across the road, and Rex reflected that the sunset was about the only quiet thing in the entirety of Heela. The upcoming 'event' in the arena had excited the occupants. Every cantina, betting stall, and gambling house in the city was open and full. Multiple fights had broken out. Not five minutes ago, a swoop gang had roared past, firing their pistols in the air and shouting drunken threats against each other, the Jedi, and the Republic at large.

At first, every time the clones heard laser fire, they'd reached for their guns, but after a couple of hours, it had become part of the background noise. Now, they only became wary if there _wasn't _a blaster shot at least once every two minutes.

Rex was considering the irony of this when Jesse spoke. "It's been a while. Think General Fisto got your message?"

"If he didn't, we're in a _lot _of trouble."

"Yeah. . ."

"We've still got several hours before the thirty-second hour." Rex glanced at his chronometer. "If we don't hear from him soon, we'll have to do what we can on our own."

Moving to the computer terminal, he checked Snap's datapad, on which he could view his teammates' life signs. Kix, Snap, and Gadget were on their way back from patrolling the upper halls of the castle, and they hadn't reported once. No trouble from that quarter, then.

There had been no news of the generals or of Cody since Tar Saresh's transmission, either, and although Rex hadn't expected any, the lack of information was becoming a problem. Mostly, of course, because without information, they were forced to wait around and do nothing.

"Don't shoot, Captain," said a voice outside the door, and Snap glanced cautiously around it.

"Get inside," Rex ordered. "See anything interesting?"

"Not so much as a serving droid," Kix said, shutting the door and engaging the locking mechanism.

Rex nodded and turned back to the window. They had maybe an hour before it would be dark enough to attempt relocating to the Cauldron. It would be hard to get there without being noticed, but the route Gadget had mapped out would help. Once they were there –

_Once we're there, we'll follow General Skywalker's example and make up a rescue as we go along. . . Yeah, because that always works so well. _

Rex shook his head. General Skywalker's strategies usually consisted of rushing in headlong and hoping for the best. Of course, he also had the skill needed to pull off crazy, suicidal stunts, like crashing entire cruisers into droid control ships. Come to think of it, a lot of the general's plans had involved crashing ships.

_Maybe I should tell Oddball to land the _Twilight _on top of the Cauldron. _

His commlink beeped, and he pressed it. "Wooley, any word from General Fisto?"

"Yes, sir, it just came in. He's on his way with the commando squad now. They'll make their way to the castle and rendezvous with your team. Time estimate, two hours."

"Good. Keep monitoring the holonet, and let me know if there are any developments."

"Will do, sir."

"Anything we can do from our end?"

There was a moment of silence, and Rex could hear another voice. Wooley cleared his throat. "Eh – Boomer says not unless you can give us a direct connection to Ventress' personal computer."

Across the room, Jesse straightened and glanced at Rex. Snap stopped polishing his already gleaming pistol, a look of interest crossing his face.

"Hmm." Rex gestured to the computer station. "Gadget, you think we can locate that from here?"

"Captain," Wooley said cautiously. "Are you really –?"

"I'll keep you posted. Captain Rex out." He clicked off his comm and turned to Gadget. "What've you got?"

The younger clone had appropriated Snap's datapad and was connecting it to the terminal. "I'll upload the castle's systems to this and overlay them with the diagram of the castle. We can narrow it down from there."

"Right," said Jesse, leaning over his shoulder. "And her computer would probably be the hardest to access, so –" He tapped the screen. "We can eliminate this location – and this one – and _this _one. . ."

Kix joined the group. "Hopefully, it wasn't in the throne room."

The others turned to regard him for a long moment, and Kix gave an apologetic shrug. Snap cleared his throat. "Right. . ."

"It's got to be one of these," Gadget said after a moment, pointing to three glowing red dots on the diagram. "And this one is pretty close to where the shield generator was."

Rex studied the diagram. "Let's skip that one. Jesse, Kix, Snap, get to the western one. Gadget, you're with me."

In the hallway, they split into their respective groups and hurried in opposite directions. Rex ran down one hall and then up a flight of stairs, Gadget matching him step for step. At the top of the stairs, they were stopped by a locked metal door.

As Rex glanced around for the control panel, Jesse's voice came through. "Captain, we found the terminal."

"Good. What've you got?"

"Basic security, nothing Snap can't override."

"Copy that. We've got to break down a door. Report in when you've made progress." He turned back to the door to see Gadget kneeling on the top step, tapping lightly on the metallic surface before him. "Find anything, kid?"

"Yes, sir!" Gadget got to his feet, nearly tripping in his eagerness. "The door opens inward, but the control panel is located on the other side, here."

"So the lock would be on the opposite side. . . right _here._"  
"Yes, sir."

"Hm." Rex drew his pistols and motioned for Gadget to fall back. "Which means the hinges are – there."

He fired a few dozen times, weakening the two large hinges with the onslaught of energy. Together, he and Gadget threw themselves against it, and the door fell inward, landing on the stone floor with a hollow _boom. _

The room was empty of everything except a computer station, a small table and chair, and a plain bed.

"If this is Ventress' room, she must not stay here often," Gadget said, observing the simple furnishings with surprise.

Rex powered up the computer and studied the display. "Minimal security, so this probably isn't Ventress' room. . . Or is it?"

He accessed the usage history. Computer account entered four days ago, hologram call accepted, call terminated after less than two minutes; account entered yesterday, hologram call accepted, call terminated ninety seconds in; and – _account entered nine minutes ago, _hologram call accepted, call terminated after five minutes.

Rex checked his surroundings again, the back of his neck crawling. The dim light from the computer was enough to see that the tiny room was completely empty.

Gadget was staring at the display, his eyes reflecting the light. "Someone just left here," he said. "_Right _before we went up the stairs."

"Keep an eye on the stairs," Rex told him, tapping his comm. "Jesse. Keep a sharp lookout. Someone was here recently."

"Yes, sir." There was a moment's hesitation. "It wasn't a servant?"

"No." Rex glanced at the display again. "Minimal security on computer – no passcode – no activity in the past week apart from taking hologram calls, and the caller's information is heavily coded."

"So, someone wanted to access the terminal quickly, but doesn't want the caller to be known."

"Yeah. Anything on your end?"

"Not much. Some stuff related to Ventress' position as ruler of Rattatak, but nothing about the Seps. Hologram messages to war barons, money transactions. . . Nothing more recent than a month ago. We're copying everything we can."

"Good. When you've finished, join us up here."

"On our way."

"Captain Rex." Gadget's voice was steady, but it wasn't hard for Rex to pick out the slightly higher tone that indicated fear or nervousness. "Do you think Ventress was here?"

Rex glanced idly in his direction. "Yeah."

Gadget didn't answer, but he straightened his posture and went back to watching the stairwell with increased vigilance.

_Works every time. _When Rex had been deployed for the first time, it had been as part of a platoon of reinforcements. They landed right in the center of a battle. The air was so thick with smoke that he could see the lasers, but not the droids. The sergeant's easy overconfidence had gotten them past that first jolt of uncertainty and fear, and it was a trick Rex had used many times since then. _Taught me a lot, Sarge, considering you didn't last even one battle. _

Rex went to the stairway and glanced down. He needed to track that mysterious caller and find out what Ventress had been talking about here. To do that, he needed a professional slicer. His men were good, but they hadn't been trained at the level that others – commandos, for example – had been.

Rex huffed under his breath. Deltas Oh-Seven and Six-Two were going to be absolutely unbearable. Then again. . . Rex smirked. General Skywalker had been part of the bet, too. And _he _was the one who had gotten himself captured.

**Well, the clones do take their professional pride seriously. :D Then again, Kit Fisto is hardly attempting to be humble, so . . .**

**Do you find it interesting to read bits and pieces of the clones' backstories, or does it slow the story down too much? Thanks for your feedback!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Short chapter here, guys. I'm trying to get the final groundwork prepared for the climax. :) "Once we're all back together, we'll retrieve the launch codes, and then - " No, sorry, that was Boss' line. :) However, once everyone's on Rattatak, the fireworks can start. . . Hehe. **

Obi-Wan sat cross-legged and straight-backed, his posture correct in every particular as he meditated; or, rather, as he attempted to meditate.

The guards down the hall were playing a very loud game of dice and, from what actual words he could gather amidst their cursing and swearing, they were also placing bets on which Jedi would survive the longest at tonight's games. He remembered the sandy pit with some trepidation, shook his head slightly, and settled down again to clear his mind.

A burst of raucous laughter intruded on his peace, followed by a guttural voice shouting, "Fifty creds says they'll _both _last longer than the soldiers! Ha!"

Obi-Wan opened his eyes and stared severely in the general direction of the interruption.

Another ruffian joined in. "Saresh won't get his money's worth out of 'em. Bet he won't even need us to subdue 'em."

Flash, who had been lounging irritatedly against the door, spun to face the bars and hollered back, "Why don't you come in here and find out, you useless scumbags?"

There was a short pause, probably because the thugs were unable to actually process the fact that they were being insulted. Obi-Wan sniffed.

Namer quietly got up from his position by the far wall, put a hand on Flash's shoulder, and pulled him away from the door. "That's _not_ a good idea right now."

Flash obeyed, looking mutinous, and Namer smirked. "We'll prove 'em wrong when they go up against us."

Echo stopped fiddling with his hopelessly broken chronometer and cast a nervous glance at the hallway. "General, do you know what they mean about Saresh?"

"I'm afraid so," Obi-Wan replied, giving up all hope of meditating in the foreseeable future. "It looks as though this building is chiefly used as an arena."

Echo looked blank.

Obi-Wan got up and straightened his tunic, wincing at the pull in his injured shoulder. "Apparently, you and Anakin and I are to be forced into fighting for our lives."

"Against those jokers?" Flash asked, tilting his head at the door.

"I doubt it," Obi-Wan told him, glancing into the hall. "If this is anything like that one on Geonosis, we'll have to deal with creatures of some sort." He frowned and tugged gently at his beard. "Large, dangerous creatures. And somehow I don't see Tar Saresh returning my lightsaber, so we'll have to make do."

"We don't have weapons," said Echo, falling back into his usual habit of stating the obvious. "Maybe we could steal some when the guards come to get us!"

"General," said Namer. "Are we the only ones down here?"

"Well, Ghost and Trap were taken past us, but I didn't see anyone else."

"That's right," said Echo. "And Fives is in the opposite direction, with Det and Waxer and Boil."

"I hope they're not causing too much trouble," Obi-Wan said uselessly, thinking back to Ryloth. Waxer and Boil with Fives . . . He supposed he should be grateful that those three weren't imprisoned with Anakin; they'd be sure to collectively think up some foolhardy, dangerous plan.

Flash paced to the other side of the room and kicked lightly at the wall. "General Skywalker must be with Ghost and Trap, then."

"Indeed," Obi-Wan said. "And Cody is probably there as well, if he didn't manage to escape. It seems we must wait for Captain Rex to contact the Jedi Council for assistance."

"Yeah," said Flash. "_If_ he finds out where the other jamming device is."

"Or if he leaves Rattatak," Namer interjected quietly. "But he won't do that."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "No, and I trust he won't call in reinforcements from the _Negotiator_. You don't think he's planning to fight his way into the prison, Namer?"

"No, sir. I think he'll probably call in the nearest help he can."

"Oh?"

"Nearest help I know of is General Fisto and his commandos."

"Oh." Obi-Wan considered this for a moment. "Dear me."

Flash and Echo exchanged rueful smirks, and Namer nodded. "Yes, General."

* * *

Anakin gripped the bars of the door in both hands, closed his eyes, and focused on the door. He could scarcely reach the Force with his mind. A fierce ache started in his forehead, and he gritted his teeth.

"General," said Trap's curious voice. "What are you doing?"

Anakin took a deep breath, ignoring the uncomfortable prickling around his face and neck. "Trying – to break through – the door."

After a few more seconds, he gave up, staggering back and wiping the sweat from his forehead. When he looked up, Cody was eyeing him thoughtfully.

Anakin frowned. "What?"

"General, even if you get through the door, you can't get through the ray shield."

He sighed and slumped down, propping his arms across one knee. "Yeah, you're right."

Trap and Ghost had run out of things to argue about some time previously – most of their conversation had been about whether the Five-Oh-First or the Two-Twelfth was better at such-and-such a thing – and were now sitting in companionable silence.

Anakin sighed and tipped his head back towards the ceiling. It was getting late, even by Rattatakian time. "Wonder how long we're going to be stuck here."

No one answered, probably because they were all wondering the same thing.

"One of us could shout through the shield," Trap suggested, flicking at the weird lizard creature that kept scampering in and out of a tiny hole in the wall. "Maybe see where the other guys are."

Everyone managed to look halfway interested for approximately two seconds before sinking back into boredom.

A loud _clang_ down the hall and loud voices brought them to their feet. Anakin rushed to the door and peered out. "Well, if it isn't our friend Tar Saresh and a brute of a guard."

The orange Twi'lek moved up to the ray shield and peered through with a friendly smile. "Jedi Skywalker, step back from the door."

Anakin obeyed. "You know, you _could _occasionally say something else!" he huffed.

The ray shield flickered out of existence. "Such as?"

"Oh, I don't know." Anakin folded his arms. "Maybe, 'I'm so sorry we've held you here for so long. I've decided to let you go.' Something like that."

Saresh laughed. "You Jedi are so arrogant! But it won't be long now. However, I came here to release the clone commander."

Cody held his ground. "Why?"

"Someone wishes to speak with you."

"Yeah, no thanks."

Tar Saresh drew a gun. "You don't have a choice."

". . . Right." Cody turned to glance questioningly at Anakin. "General?"

"How can you refuse the good Count's invitation?" Anakin said bitingly. "Don't give away any trade secrets."

Cody raised an eyebrow and moved over to the door.

"Really, Skywalker," Tar Saresh said, releasing the lock. "You must think us to be barbarians."

"Yes, actually, I do."

Trap and Ghost moved closer to the door, and Tar Saresh waved them back. "You have a few hours left. I suggest you get some rest while you still can."

The muscular guard handcuffed Cody and shoved him down the hall.

Tar Saresh started to follow them, then said, with a friendly smile, "Ah, yes. Jedi Skywalker, have you ever seen a horned kath hound?"

**So, what the heck? What does Dooku want to talk to Cody for? And horned kath hounds? :O**

**Oh - keep a lookout for a new series of one-shots I'll be doing, which I'll be collecting under the inauspicious title of 'Misadventures of Jedi Generals'. :D**


	26. Chapter 26

**I was pretty surprised at how much research had to be done for this chapter. I suppose not all of it was strictly necessary, but you know how it is. You start reading one Wikpedia (or Wookiepedia) article, and then you click on the next thing, and the next, and the next . . . :) Oops.**

* * *

Boss stood at the back of the cockpit, watching as Advisor, his left shoulder heavily bandaged, flicked through screen after screen of data. Kit Fisto had pulled on a long brown robe over his battle gear, and now stood with folded arms and closed eyes, doing whatever it was Jedi did to prepare for battle.

The shuttle settled across from the _Twilight _with a soft bump. Fixer spoke over his shoulder. "We've landed, sir."

Scorch gestured out the viewport at the ground. "Are you sure, Forty? I mean, maybe we're still in the air."

Fixer locked the ship systems without answering and tested his vibroblade with a flick of his wrist, as he did before every mission.

General Fisto opened his eyes. "There is much excitement in the city."

"Not surprising." Advisor glanced up. "A lot of money's changing hands, and Tar Saresh has called several of Rattatak's most famous gladiatorial fighters into the city."

"Ah, that's good to know." The Jedi touched his lightsaber and headed for the cargo bay. "Ready, Sergeant?"

"Yes, sir. Sev, Scorch, get the landspeeder ready."

They filed out of the ship and trudged through the sand to reach the _Twilight, _which lowered its boarding ramp as they approached. Boss and Fixer entered the hold to see four other clones, all of whom jumped to attention when they caught sight of the Jedi.

"General Fisto! Sergeant Wooley reporting, sir."  
"Sergeant Boomer reporting, sir."

The Jedi inclined his head in greeting. "At ease, troopers."

Boss considered the occupants of the_ Twilight_ thoughtfully. Four of Commander Cody's troopers, and one of Captain Rex's. Only the pilot was uninjured, a fact which General Fisto seemed to notice as well. "Your name, pilot?"

"Oddball, sir. Fighter pilot, Two-Twelfth."

"Do you have a co-pilot?"

"No, sir, but Switch here can handle a shuttle just fine."

"Very good. Sergeant Wooley, I suggest putting a pilot on each ship. It is likely that we'll need to get them off the ground fast."

"Good idea, sir." Wooley gestured to Oddball, who saluted and left at a run. "We can be in the city in under two minutes, if need be."

"Excellent. Have you discovered anything new since your last report?"  
"No, sir, but Captain Rex located what we think is a record of Ventress' communications. Here's the scramble set we've been using, sir."

Fixer leaned over and glanced at the datapad. "Got it." He typed in a string of numbers. "Here's a new encryption code. Get all the comms over to this set."

"Right away, Corporal." Wooley turned to another clone. "Longshot, get this transmitted to Captain Rex, and tell him the general's on his way."

"We'll head into the city now. Keep the guns ready." General Fisto grinned brightly and hurried out.

The landspeeder was just outside, and Boss raised his eyebrows when he caught sight of Sev at the controls. "I don't think we'll get into the city that way," he said.

"Didn't think so, sir." Sev hopped down. "We'll have to hide under the seats in back and hope that Nautolans are more common around here than commandos."

"Nautolans are not common on desert planets," replied the Jedi, hopping into the driver's seat. "However, we shouldn't have too much trouble."

Scorch vaulted into the back. "Probably not. The city's filling up with outsiders."

The other commandos climbed up and ducked beneath the inward-curving sides of the open transport. Kit Fisto gunned the engine, and they zipped towards the city, leaving clouds of sand in their wake.

Not two minutes later, the speeder reached the edge of the city and slowed, veering into the main street. It came to a sudden stop, and Boss grabbed at the wall to keep from crashing into Scorch.

"Hold it right there!" a deep voice ordered.

Sev shifted position slightly, ready to jump up, and Boss signaled for him to wait.

"What do you want?" General Fisto demanded.

"What is your business here?"

Footsteps approached, and the Jedi laughed. "What is anyone's business here? I wish to attend the event at the Cauldron."

"Yeah? Who's your champion?"

There was a brief pause. "I'm putting my money on the Jedi."

"Ha! Word of advice, stranger. Best odds are on Viscus Gaan. Don't put all your chips on one man. All right, on your way."

The speeder moved on. A moment later, Advisor said, "Viscus Gaan. He's a Zabrak male. Cauldron champion. Killed eight combatants in the last to-the-death match."

Scorch huffed. "Only eight?"

"There were _only _eight," said Advisor. "They attacked him simultaneously."

"Oh."

General Fisto peered over his shoulder and stopped the speeder. "This building will provide cover while we climb the castle wall."

Boss glanced at the wall. "Four meters. We won't even need cables."

The Jedi tossed his robe in the speeder, jumped, and landed precisely on top of the wall. "No guards. And it would appear that the others put up quite a fight."

"We couldn't have gone through the gate, I suppose," said Scorch, bracing himself against the wall so Fixer could climb up.

"No," replied Boss succinctly, doing the same for Sev.

As soon as Sev and Fixer were on top, they turned and reached down. Boss took a running start, kicking off the wall, and they grabbed his hands and swung him over. He landed and moved forward, scanning the courtyard for possible threats.

General Fisto hopped down beside him. "I believe we're being watched. . ." He tilted his head and then flashed a smile. "One of the clones."

Scorch stared at him, but before he could get distracted and start asking questions about the Jedi and their mysterious powers, Boss cut him off. "Captain Rex, we're approaching the castle."

"Yeah," Rex's voice drawled. "I'm watching you."

"We know," said Fixer a second later. "You're behind the fuel tanks."

Thirty-Eight smirked. He hadn't expected Fixer to cheat by getting a vector on Rex's transmission signature, but neither was he going to say anything about it.

Captain Rex didn't say anything, either. He ran over – from behind the fuel tanks – saluted General Fisto, and said, "We've got the castle secured, sir. I've got the other guys guarding the computer we found."

"Lead the way, Captain."

They ran into the castle, down a hall, and up a flight of stairs. As they passed a room that had been severely damaged by explosives, Rex said, "Fixer, I've got a job for you. You think you can get through advanced cryptographic protocols and reconstruct the contents of a holovid call _without _setting an alert off?"

"I'll need some time."

"We've got time." Rex headed up a fourth flight of stairs and into a plainly furnished room. "There's the computer."

Fixer pulled out his datapad and connected it. "All three calls?"

"Let's see if the most recent one gives us what we need."

"Got it."

As he set to work, Rex turned to General Fisto. "I've had the other men scouting the castle. We haven't seen Ventress, but odds are she knows we're here."

"And Dooku is here as well." Kit Fisto hummed. "Did either of the Jedi leave their lightsabers with you?"

"No, sir. We know Dooku has General Skywalker's. And there's been no sign of Grievous' fighter. He might have left the system."

Sev grunted, amused. "Yeah. About that. . ."

Fixer glanced up from the computer. "He must have traced Commander Cody's call to us."

"Yeah, he got on the _Twilight_," Rex said, taking off his helmet. "So, he followed you to Vassek III?"

"He knew we were there," the general said. "I kept him busy while the commandos blew up his ship and his fortress."

Rex looked at Thirty-Eight, impressed despite himself. "Hm. Cody wasn't kidding when he said you guys got results."

Boss tilted his head. "We gave Grievous a black eye, at least."

"Literally," Scorch added.

While Rex called his men back from their patrol, Boss located the Cauldron on the holomap. "Advisor, we need more intel about the Cauldron. I've got one main entrance marked here."

"Give me a minute to get the most recent data. . . Hm. It looks like this building isn't the original Cauldron. That one was a huge cave, not far from here, but it was destroyed in a bombing run several months ago."

"So the one we're looking at is relatively new." Which probably meant top security, defensive systems, the works.

"I'll compile a new map," Advisor replied. "There's got to be an entrance into the maintenance levels, at least."

Fixer turned to face them. "I've captured the transmission, sir."

"Excellent work," said General Fisto, moving closer. "Play it back."

Two figures appeared above Fixer's holoprojector, the outlines blurred and slightly overlapping each other. A human with a pointed beard and a lightsaber hanging from his belt spoke first. _"Everything is ready, my apprentice."_

"Dooku," muttered the Jedi.

The bald-headed woman – Ventress, judging by the look on Rex's face – narrowed her pale eyes. _"Master Kenobi is difficult to predict."_

_ "I am well aware." _The Sith Lord frowned at the thought. _"However, Saresh has assured me that they will not be moved from their cells until I give the word."_

_ "My lord, have you considered that if the Jedi die here, the Republic might invade Rattatak?"_

_ "I have considered it. But you needn't fear for your domain, Ventress."_

She sneered. _"_My _domain? If our cause did not greatly benefit from the drug cartels and crime lords, I'd let the war barons tear this filthy planet to shreds! But even those simple fools must know that the Jedi will destroy their way of life."_

The count folded his hands behind his back. _"Tonight, we will give the Rattatakians cause for even greater grievance against the Jedi." _

_ "But they are pleased with your decision. . ."_

_ "At the moment." _Count Dooku smiled slightly. _"There will be some civilian casualties tonight, but that will prevent the Republic from invading, especially when it was the Jedi who invaded the city."_

_ "With twenty troopers?" _Ventress snorted. _"Even I know the Senate won't accept that as a reason for publicly executing two Jedi."_

_ "Perhaps not, but the Rattatakians still have the right to deal with prisoners as they see fit. Besides, only one Jedi will die tonight. Young Skywalker is to be left alive, if not undamaged." _

_ "I thought you said Kenobi was the bait." _Ventress sounded confused_._

Boss glanced over at General Fisto, who was frowning thoughtfully as he followed the conversation.

_ "Indeed." _Count Dooku rested a hand on a curved lightsaber hilt. _"Kenobi is the bait for Skywalker."_

Ventress hesitated for a long moment, her gaze glancing back and forth as though reading invisible text. _"I apologize, Master, but I do not understand."_

_ "Lord Sidious has not explained his reasons," _replied the Count, his eyebrows lowering. _"He has merely given us orders, my apprentice. Your mission is to guard the prison levels. Let no one in apart from the guards."_

_ "Yes, Master."_

_ "And have the clone commander brought to me. Kenobi will not attack without some motivation." _He looked almost fondly at his apprentice. _"After all, we must keep the city rabble content." _

Ventress bowed, her hood almost obscuring her smile. _"It will be done, my lord." _

The hologram flickered and disappeared.

General Fisto stared intently at it, his large eyes narrowed in thought. "I cannot understand what is behind this plan. . . Something dark is at work."

"Yeah, it's Dooku," Rex said, replacing his helmet.

"This Lord Sidious . . ." The Jedi Master shook his head slightly and turned, casting his gaze over the clones. "We must locate Dooku."

"The transmission was sent from beneath the Cauldron," Fixer said, unplugging his datapad.

"We'll have to break in," Boss said, resting his rifle against one shoulder. "Advisor, what do you have for intel?"

"I'm sending you an updated map now. It's going to be almost impossible to get the prisoners out before the games start."  
"Why?" Rex said. His men had gathered in a line against the wall behind him. "Is the main entrance the only one?"

"Negative. There is another, but it opens from a private residence adjacent to the Cauldron – probably Saresh's place. The building is full of guards."

"We can take 'em," declared a 501st trooper with the Republic Roundel painted over one side of his helmet.

"Come on," said one of Cody's men. "That's hardly the point."

"I agree," said Rex slowly. "The citizens will be a real problem if they hear a rescue is being staged."

"Exactly," said Advisor. "I'm compiling all the relevant data I can for the moment, but getting in unnoticed is going to be a problem. It might even be impossible."

"Then we don't get in unnoticed," Rex said decisively.

Scorch sighed. "Why don't we just blow up the main entrance? Oh. Same problem, right. . ."

"We'll enter after the games have started," General Fisto said, flipping his holoprojector over to reveal the map. "If we move quickly, we should be able to get through Saresh's house –" He pointed at the red-marked square – "and into the Cauldron before any of the prisoners are released into the arena itself. All those who attend the games will have entered ahead of us."

"That makes sense," Sev said.

"It's the best chance we've got," said Advisor after a moment. "I've located an unoccupied building two streets from the Cauldron. Recommend you take position there while waiting."

"I'll scout ahead," the general said. Putting one hand on the windowsill, he vaulted through and vanished.

None of the regular troopers seemed to even notice his departure, and Thirty-Eight wondered what kind of crazy stunts their Jedi must pull on a regular basis to immunize them to such things.

"Let's head out," Rex ordered.

"Try to keep up, commandos," joked the one with the roundel on his helmet as he hurried down the stairs.

"That's funny, I was about to say the same thing to you, reg," said Scorch.

"Jesse. The name's Jesse."

"I'm Scorch. You guys killed any droids yet?"

"Hey!"

Boss reached the hallway. Ahead of him, the medic elbowed Jesse. "_They_ only have a high kill count because they blew up a droid factory."

Sev interjected. "We don't count nonfunctional droids. Well – most of us don't."

Before Scorch could retort, Captain Rex signaled for everyone to hold position while he checked the room ahead. "All clear. Jesse, Kix, take point."

His troopers moved forward and the others fell in behind, running silently until they reached the courtyard. General Fisto was waiting for them, once again wearing his Jedi robes. "We'll go in the speeder," he said, and jumped to the wall.

Boss dropped to one knee against the wall and motioned to the younger of Cody's troopers. "Up and over."

The rookie obeyed, and the medic followed. The others seemed to be cooperating well enough, even if there were a couple of triumphant helmet-tilts when the regular clones got over faster than the commandos. They managed to get into the landspeeder without any physical confrontation, however, and maintained silence while the general drove to their destination.

Rex hopped out and scanned their surroundings for a long moment. "All right, troopers, move it!"

One after the other, they entered the warehouse, then sealed the door behind them.

After double-checking the building for occupants, General Fisto seated himself on an empty crate and checked his chronometer. "One hour until we move in."

* * *

**There was a lot of planning to get through in this one, but I'm updating as fast as I can! :)**

**If any of you wants to read a really good Clone Wars 'fix-it' story, I highly recommend you check out 'Vode An', by epsiloneridani. It's in my favorites, and the plot threads are woven together flawlessly. Not to give spoilers or anything, but there are some excellent moments in there, particularly with the members of Bad Batch, Fox, Obi-Wan, Cody, Rex, Anakin, Echo, Fives, Ventress, Kix - Okay, fine, literally all the characters.**

**Seriously, I wish I'd thought of the plot line.  
**

**The author is also on AO3, if you guys prefer that format. **


	27. Chapter 27

**Okay, here we are . . . the last 'set-up' chapter before the big fight begins! I hope everyone's excited for it, because I must admit - I am! :)**

* * *

A sharp _clang _of metal jolted Anakin from his doze, and he looked up to see Tar Saresh striking the cell bars with the barrel of his pistol. "Come, Jedi Skywalker. You too, soldiers."

Anakin followed Trap and Flash into the hall, where a Weequay guard put stun cuffs on them, linking their wrists together with Anakin between the two clones.

"Don't worry," Tar Saresh said, resting a friendly hand on Trap's shoulder. "I'll remove those when the time comes for you to enter the arena."

Anakin rolled his eyes. "Not taking any chances, I see."

"Not when there are over a million credits on your head alone."

"_What?_"

With a languid wave, the Twi'lek led them down the hall. "That is how much I stand to lose if you do not win in the arena tonight."

"Great," Anakin retorted. "I can't say I've ever _wanted_ to losebefore, but –"

"Winning is the only way to survive here, Skywalker."

As they walked, Ghost reached slowly across with his free hand and started working at the binders connecting his wrist to Anakin's.

Anakin stared straight ahead. "I suppose you've got Obi-Wan here as well. Have you thought about how your men are going to fight off two Jedi? It'll be expensive to replace all your guards."

"It would be." Tar Saresh stopped in front of a large door and entered a code. "But I am not having you fight my guards, remember?"

There was a sudden _snap_ and Ghost jolted and dropped to his knees, yanking Anakin off-balance.

Tar Saresh opened the door and glanced over his shoulder. "Did I forget to tell you that those are much stronger than normal stun cuffs? Yes? My apologies."

Anakin dragged Ghost upright. "Do you _ever _stop talking?"

"Call it excitement, if you will," the Twi'lek said, gesturing them into the room. "There has not been an event this big in many months. Forgive me, I must go fetch your other companions."

"General Skywalker!" Fives jumped up from a long bench and joined them as the door shut behind them. "We've been wondering what happened to you guys."

"Hey, Fives. Det, Waxer, Boil . . ."

"Glad to have you aboard, General," Boil said, with a sardonic salute.

"Always a pleasure," he replied automatically, staring at the metal wall that covered the far end of the cell. "What's that?"

"It looks like a door," said Det. "We spent the entire afternoon trying to find a way through it."

Anakin shut his eyes. Even with his dimmed perception of the Force, he could feel the excitement from beyond the wall. . . excitement from hundreds – _thousands_ – of beings. "We're right next to the arena."

"Yeah, we figured." Waxer slouched back against the wall just as the door opened again.

They all turned to face it – Anakin and Trap and Ghost somewhat awkwardly – and then stared as Ventress sauntered into the room.

"Ventress!" exclaimed Anakin.

She ignored him and turned to Tar Saresh. "They're all accounted for?"

"Yes, Lady Ventress. The last few are on their way . . . Ah, here."

"So good to see you again, Saresh," came Obi-Wan's insincere voice, followed shortly by the Jedi Master himself. He stopped as he caught sight of the tall woman blocking his path. "Ventress. What a lovely sight to start off this perfectly unenjoyable evening."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, Kenobi, so don't try it." She stepped aside as Echo, Flash, and Namer passed her, and her cloak shifted one side.

Obi-Wan looked disdainful. "Is that my lightsaber you're carrying? I hate to be rude, but blue really isn't your color."

"Trust me, my dear Obi-Wan, I don't intend to use it," she replied, touching his cheek with one hand and causing Obi-Wan to flinch away. She swept back to the door and stopped, not looking back at him. "Perhaps I will sell it to General Grievous. He's always shown such an interest in adding it to his collection."

The door shut, and Obi-Wan made his way over to Anakin. "Well, I see they're not taking any chances with you."

Trap held up their linked wrists ruefully. "General Skywalker is worth over a million credits."

"Is that right? I wonder when _that _happened?"

Anakin had long ago concluded that the more displeased Obi-Wan was, the more _snippy _his conversation tended to get. "Master, I don't know if you've noticed, but we're kind of in trouble here."

"I did, now that you mention it." Obi-Wan glanced at his own restraints. "And how did you manage to get captured again?"

Anakin huffed and sat down where he was, obliging Ghost and Trap to join him on the floor. "An ambush, of course. I take it no one's seen Cody."

"No, sir," said Fives.

Obi-Wan pulled experimentally at his stun cuffs.

"General, don't –" Ghost began.

_Snap! _

" – try that. . ."

After recovering his equilibrium, Obi-Wan glared dreadfully at the offending cuffs and sat down with a huff. "Anakin, I don't suppose your Force-abilities are back, by any chance?"

"No." Anakin tilted his head in thought, then glanced back up. "My mind is clearer than it was, though. Maybe that dark energy is wearing off."

"Hmm." Obi-Wan considered for a long moment, got to his feet, and came to sit across from Anakin. "Maybe we can do something to help hurry that along."

He held out both hands and closed his eyes.

"Uh, Master . . ." Anakin pulled back just as the tug in his wrists told him that Ghost and Trap had tried to edge away as well. "You said yourself you didn't know exactly what it was. . . Maybe we should just wait for it to fade on its own."

"Very well." He sat back on his heels. "If you'd rather go up against all manner of creatures without any defense whatsoever. . ."

"_Fine._" Anakin decided that there was no one in the universe who could look quite as smug as Obi-Wan Kenobi could when he was being difficult. "Just don't . . . I don't know, accidentally put me in a trance or something."

"Really, Anakin." Obi-Wan closed his eyes and reached out again. "That only happened once."

Trap and Ghost edged farther away, and Anakin sighed as he was forced to hold his arms at an uncomfortable angle. Boil leaned against the wall, looking very much amused at their predicament. Anakin sent him a warning glare before closing his eyes and attempting to clear his mind.

"This shouldn't take long," Obi-Wan said, in a voice that was probably _meant_ to be reassuring, but really, really wasn't.

* * *

Kit Fisto sat cross-legged on a wooden crate and let his gaze wander over the soldiers that hovered about the room. Jesse lounged against the wall, swapping tall tales with Scorch. Sev stood nearby with Snap. Both took turns making derisive comments whenever their companions' lies became a little too outrageous.

Kix had apparently given up on all of them some time ago. He sat near Jesse, reading something on his datapad and ignoring the entire conversation.

Fixer was upgrading one of Gadget's devices for him, all the while explaining what he was doing – in fact, he'd probably talked more in the last half hour than he had the rest of the mission.

Captain Rex stood across from Kit Fisto, staring at a holomap of the surrounding area. Delta Thirty-Eight leaned over to point something out, and Rex nodded.

Kit checked his chrono, jumped to his feet, and stretched. "Half an hour to go, troopers! We must consider our plan of attack."

The others gathered as Boss said, "Advisor, anything new?"

"Saresh's residence is mostly emptied of guards, but I can't get an accurate read on the prison levels."

"Another jamming device?" asked Rex.

"Most likely. If you can take it out, I'll be able to provide more information. I can't deactivate any of the alarms from here without full access."

Boss glanced at Fixer, who nodded. "I can handle that, sir."

"The easiest way to get access would be to shut the system down, but that might make the situation worse. There are over four thousand civilians inside the Cauldron, with more entering every moment."

"I see." Kit Fisto rested his chin in one hand. "We'll have to reveal ourselves to get the others out, but the moment we do, we risk being attacked by the civilians."

"We'll have to play it by ear," Rex said.

Jesse elbowed Kix. "Good thing we're used to General Skywalker playing it by ear."

"All right," said Kit. "Let's get to Saresh's house first. We'll clear it and use it as our retreat route."

Boss gestured at the hologram. "The street there is wide enough for the shuttles to land on," he said. "We could use them to prevent anyone getting in from the front."

"Hmm." Rex looked at the building in question for a long moment. "Oddball, how good a pilot are you?"

"One of the best in the Two-Twelfth," came the confident reply.

Snap nodded his agreement, and Rex grinned mirthlessly. "Good, because I want you to land General Fisto's shuttle with the boarding ramp inside the front door."

Scorch whistled softly, but Oddball was unfazed. "Just tell me when, sir."

Kit Fisto drew his lightsaber. "All right, let's move out."

After a careful check outside, they hurried back to the landspeeder, and Kit Fisto drove slowly towards the Cauldron. The night sky was sprinkled with glittering points of light, and he glanced up at them, breathing the cool air. He remembered the last arena he'd been in, on Geonosis, and how many Jedi had been killed. He and his men had an even smaller chance of success this time.

There were more prisoners to rescue, fewer troops, more enemies, fewer Jedi. . .

Kit Fisto smirked as he braked gently to a halt just outside the house. He spoke over his shoulder as the men jumped out. "Our only advantage is that we can't be out planned. We don't know what we're doing ourselves."

"You're right about that, sir," Rex admitted, not sounding particularly concerned.

The Jedi Master turned the speeder around. "I'll leave the landspeeder back at the warehouse and return."

Boss motioned to his commandos. "Scout the perimeter. Don't destroy anything that might set off an alarm."

They slipped off into the darkness.

**SO - what do you guys think is going to happen next? Is there any way this rescue attempt will work? **

**Seriously? :)**


	28. Chapter 28

**Guys, I think I lied. I said that the last chapter was the last 'set-up' one . . . This isn't exactly a set-up - there's plenty of action - but I had to take it mostly from the Delta and 501st side of things.**

**I hope this is still enjoyable, though! :)**

* * *

Obi-Wan started violently when a hand landed on his shoulder. He opened his eyes, withdrawing his focus back to the present, and took an instant to adjust.

Namer stood beside him. His gaze flickered between the two Jedi, then to the wide metal door. "General? I think we're out of time."

The murmur of voices outside rose to a roar. Obi-Wan got to his feet just as Anakin opened his eyes.

"Did it work?" he asked immediately, then paused to find the answer to his own question. "Master, I think it worked."

"Yes, but not entirely," Obi-Wan replied. "Be mindful of your surroundings, Anakin."

Trap and Ghost stood up at the same moment, and Anakin followed suit. "I hope Saresh doesn't forget to take these off," he said.

"I'm with you there, General," replied Trap feelingly.

Anakin grinned. "I thought you said you'd follow me into battle any day."

"Yes, sir, but _this_ wasn't what I had in mind."

Ghost smirked. "If Saresh forgets, do me a favor, General. Don't jump around all over the place like General Kenobi does."

Obi-Wan, unable to fold his arms, frowned at him. "I don't 'jump around'."

Waxer, Boil and Ghost gave him identical disbelieving looks

Det chuckled. "Pretty sure all the Jedi do, sir."

"Yes, well, be that as it may. . ." Obi-Wan tilted his head. "Saresh is coming back."

"Quick! Try to grab him!" hissed Anakin.

Flash and Det sprang to either side of the side door as it swung inward to admit Tar Saresh and a dark-skinned guard.

The two clones leaped forward. Flash grabbed the Twi'lek and put an arm across his throat, jerking him backwards. The guard fell back under Det's assault, and Obi-Wan caught another guard in a Force-grip and lifted him into the air, causing him to drop his stun weapon in surprise.

The other clones rushed toward the door. Obi-Wan flung the guard against the wall and Boil snatched up the fallen firearm.

Echo and Fives pulled Det out of the fray. Boil shot the second guard and turned to face the door, where a group of Weequay waited.

"Stop, all of you." Tar Saresh spoke casually.

"Or what?" hissed Flash, jerking him back.

Saresh's free hand reached across to his restrained wrist and pressed something on his armored vambrace.

A net of red lightning crackled over Flash, and he collapsed with a strangled cry. Tar Saresh took a quick step to the side, his blaster raised to point at Echo's forehead. "Jedi Kenobi, do we _really_ have to play this game again?"

No one moved for a long moment. Fives glanced sideways at Obi-Wan, as though waiting for a signal.

Obi-Wan lowered his bound hands, irritation lacing his voice as he replied. "We don't seem to have a choice."

"I am not so unfair." The Twi'lek gestured Det and Boil towards the far wall. "You have a choice between fighting for your lives and being shot like vermin."

"Well, those are some lousy options," muttered Anakin.

Tar Saresh watched Obi-Wan, waiting.

Obi-Wan nodded once. "All right, then."

"Excellent!"

The guards unlocked the stun cuffs from Anakin's wrists first, then Obi-Wan's, and left the room. The orange Twi'lek followed, moving backwards, his gun now pointed at Anakin's head. "In a few minutes, that door will open. Some of you will be selected for the first challenge. If you try to overpower the guards, you will be killed."

He slipped away, and the door slammed shut.

"Nice," huffed Anakin.

Trap moved across the room to check on Flash, who staggered to his feet, his expression frustrated. "Slimy, double-dealing tailhead! What _is _it with these guys and shocking people?"

"It's effective," Ghost pointed out reasonably.

Flash glared.

Anakin stepped forward, once more the general preparing for a battle. "Okay, men, pull yourselves together. We've only got a few minutes left."

"What's the plan, sir?" Echo asked uncertainly.

Anakin turned to face him, wearing the cocky, overconfident smirk that usually preceded his more dangerous ideas. "The plan is to kill everything that tries to kill us. Rex and the others are out there somewhere, and our job is to stay alive until they can get to us. Got that?"

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

"And keep your focus," Obi-Wan cut in. "You might be surprised by how hard it is when you have thousands of people screaming for your deaths."

"Yeah," said Anakin with a grin. "You'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Master?"

Obi-Wan looked at him huffily. "I might remind you that we were _both _in that arena."

* * *

Delta Thirty-Eight leaned back against the wall of the house and tilted his helmet, glancing around the corner. A steady murmur and rush of noise emanated from the nearby arena, but the city itself was eerily quiet. "Squad, report," he ordered in a low voice. "Any guards?"

"Nothing on my scopes, sir."

"Scorch here. I've got nothing."

"Four-oh reporting. All clear."

"Okay. Let's regroup at the entrance." Boss straightened and moved back along the wall to the front, where Snap was occupied in hotwiring the door.

General Fisto stood behind him, staring contemplatively up at the sky. The stars reflected oddly in his large eyes. "All ready, Sergeant?"

"Yes, sir. No guards outside the Cauldron."

"Are the entrance doors closed?" asked Rex, glancing up from where he stood with Kix and Jesse.

"Closed and locked."

Rex nodded. "General, we could land the _Twilight _outside the main door. That would give us two escape routes."

"Three, with the landspeeder," replied the Nautolan.

"Right. Switch, you hear that?"

"Yes, Captain," replied the pilot's voice. "We'll wait for your signal."

Boss moved over to his squad just as Advisor said, "Fifteen minutes left."

Snap stepped back from the panel. "Door's clear."

"Good." General Fisto glided forward. "Let's get to the prison door. I sense three guards. . ."

Boss activated his lifeform sensor to double-check. Three lifeforms, all positioned just inside the entrance. _Convenient._

The door opened noiselessly, and a sharp voice demanded, "Who's there?"

"No one of importance," the general assured him, stepping to one side.

Rex leaned around the corner and fired two stun blasts while Jesse mirrored him on the other side. "Get those guys secured."

After Snap and Gadget finished, the commandos lead the way down the stairs and to a wide, empty basement.

Rex lifted his commlink. "Oddball, get the ship here. Door's open."

"Copy that, sir."

Boss joined Fixer. "Did you find the jamming device?"

"Negative. It's somewhere below the arena pit itself, but I can't pinpoint the location."

Advisor's voice crackled faintly. "It'll be shielded. We might lose communications once you move farther in. I'll do what I can from this end."

"All right." Boss flicked two fingers, signaling Sev and Scorch to stand guard. "We'll try to get everyone back here for extraction."

"Indeed," General Fisto said, spinning his lightsaber around one hand. "We will plan on that. . . but be _prepared _for anything."

"Anything," quoted Rex, an audible smirk in his voice. "That's a pretty long list, General."

Scorch propped his gun against the bench. "Hey, that just means we can't be too prepared." He leaned against the wall, his right arm just above the muzzle of his blaster.

Boss frowned, but of course his frown was invisible behind his helmet. He looked pointedly in Six-Two's direction, waited until he caught the other commando's attention, and made a slashing motion across his throat. Scorch promptly resituated his weapon to comply with safety regulations.

The best thing about the _kill _motion was that it was universal. It simply applied to anything the recipient was doing incorrectly. Thirty-Eight didn't have to say a word – at least, not until one of his squad mates did something dangerous that the GAR hadn't yet invented a regulation against.

_Delta Squad's been the direct cause of five new army-wide regulations so far._ He wasn't sure whether to feel concerned or proud – maybe a little of each.

Jesse shifted his weapon from one hand to the other and breathed deeply. "We'll have to go in with everything we have."

"Yeah?" Sev managed to convey his scorn through a microscopic tilt of his red-marked helmet. "Is there any other way?"

Kix looked up. "I'm sure you'd know."

"That's enough," ordered Rex. "Jesse, Kix, tone it down."

They nodded, and Sev subsided as well, holding back the comment that he'd obviously been about to make.

General Fisto stood motionless, head tilted as though he were listening to something. After a long moment, he blinked and straightened. "The games will begin in a few minutes. Let's get through the prison, but be extremely cautious. If we are caught, there will be no second chances – for any of us."

Boss signaled for his squad to form up. "General, with all due respect, it might be better if you stayed back until we know the situation."

"Indeed?"

"If the guards get an alarm to Dooku that there are clones attacking, he'll just send more men to deal with us."

"Ah, I see." The general took a step to the left, allowing Fixer at the door panel. "But if he finds out I am here, he'll come down himself."

Boss nodded.

"Very well, Sergeant. I'll wait for your signal."

Rex was waving his troops forward when Fixer jerked away from the door. "They're breaching it –"

The door exploded, throwing Fixer against the wall. Boss dodged a flying piece of metal and fired into the billowing smoke. The general dropped to his knees and flung both hands outward, forcing the clanking droids back.

Boss rushed through the twisted remnants of the door, Scorch beside him. As they entered, they turned to the right and left, shooting down the droids in front of them and leaving Sev to take out any that were between them.

Advisor's wry voice crackled in Thirty-Eight's ears. "Well, they know you're there now, Deltas."

"Thanks for the update," Boss said easily, knifing one droid as he shot another.

"Get to th . . . panel. . . can." There was another burst of static, and the signal vanished completely.

"Signal lost, sir," Scorch reported obviously.

Thirty-Eight pulled back his knife and grabbed the last droid by the neck. One of Sev's sniper rounds hit it between the eyes, and Boss tossed it aside. "You okay, Forty?"

"All set, sir," came Fixer's breathless reply.

"Gotta love this armor, right?" Scorch added, flicking at a new blaster mark on his chest plate.

Boss gestured him to the next door. "Get us through."

"Hold it." Rex joined them at a run, both pistols raised. "We need to know if there are any cameras or listening devices here."

Gadget, who was staring at a small device, shook his head. "Nothing I can find, sir."

"It'll have to do," said the general, skidding to a halt. "We're running out of time."

"We've got droids on the other side," said Fixer.

The clones split to either side, ducking behind the meager cover offered by the curved walls.

"Breach charge set," warned Scorch, running back.

The door exploded into the droids' faces, and Rex was up and running before they could recover. He ducked their shots, twisting and maneuvering through their lines as he fired with both pistols.

"He's going to die." Sev sounded impressed.

Jesse slipped past Scorch, stepped on a droid that was trying to get up, and blasted another. "Eh, he's got a charmed life or something."

"No," disagreed Kix, running forward to a new cover position. "He's just crazy."

"Criticizing your commanding officer," mused Rex from where he was putting the last droid out of its mechanical misery.

Kix did not apologize.

Fixer lifted his blaster to ready position. "Lifeforms approaching."

"Captain, get back!" exclaimed General Fisto.

Rex dove away from the door. It hissed open, and two grenades rolled towards them. The soldiers ducked against the walls as the general Force-pushed the grenades back toward the intruders. Yells of alarm and the thumping sounds of a hasty retreat were followed by an explosion.

"Okay, that was useful," Scorch said.

There was a half-instant of silence, and then a _thunk, _followed by a high-pitched whistling.

Boss jerked around, shielding his face with both arms. "Get _down!_"

The missile hit directly between the two groups.

* * *

**And - yes, that was mean of me. **

**Like Kix, though, I will not apologize. . .**

**BECAUSE today is Star Wars day and all that, I will do an update. You get to choose which story I update: this one, or 'Misadventures of Jedi Generals'. :)  
**


	29. Chapter 29

**This chapter is for AnnikaSkywalker05, who has been waiting for the Cauldron fight for a very long time. . . ;D**

**Happy Star Wars day, everyone! :)**

* * *

Anakin was leaning against the large metal door when he felt it vibrate against his shoulders. He spun away and faced it as it lifted away from the ground and retracted into the ceiling.

A roar of sound filled his ears as thousands of spectators jumped to their feet, screaming and yelling. Anakin disregarded them in favor of studying his surroundings. The brightly lit, sand-covered floor of the Cauldron stretched out in front of the metal bars that blocked his way forward.

The floor was surrounded by a wall of stone, which stretched up to a height of ten meters and ended just below the first row of seats. At the far end of the pit was another metal cage, identical to the one Anakin and his companions stood in. Something large moved back and forth behind the wavering light of a ray shield.

"Umm. . ." Echo came up beside him and stared at the roaring crowd. "General . . ."

Namer narrowed his eyes. "They sound ready to attack."

"They won't," Anakin said. "They're just here for the fun."

Obi-Wan sniffed disdainfully, rubbing at his stiff shoulder. "I'd hardly call this _fun._"

"Yeah. . ." said Fives warily. "I don't want to end up plastered all over this arena by a bunch of screaming civilians."

"Ah, just ignore them, Fives." Anakin clapped him on the shoulder. "They don't want to be eaten alive any more than we do."

"Eaten alive?" Waxer looked over at Boil. "Like with those gutkurr on Ryloth?"

Anakin pointed. "I don't know about that, but there's _something_ big in that cage."

A group of guards marched across the sand towards them, and the screaming outside intensified. An enormous human, carrying a spear and wearing plate armor and half a dozen knives, unlocked a small door that formed part of the cage front. "Come on out, Jedi filth."

Anakin sighed and shook his head sadly as he complied. "You know what amazes me," he commented over his shoulder. "They always use the same insult."

"Yes," said Obi-Wan dryly. "I'm sure your point merits consideration. But for heaven's sake, not _now, _Anakin!"

"Shut it!" yelled the guard, prodding Anakin with his spear. He turned and gazed at the others for a moment before pointing at Fives. "You too! And bring your friend."

Fives glanced at Echo, who stood the closest, and the man nodded. "Hurry up! And leave your helmets."

After an instant's hesitation, they obeyed. The crowd surged to its feet, screaming and hurling insults. The guards shut the door behind the three and left, running across the sand to a small, shielded room directly beneath the seating area.

"My fellow citizens!" Tar Saresh's voice echoed throughout the building, and Anakin looked up to see him standing on a platform above the second cage. Behind him was Dooku, and next to him stood a cloaked and hooded Ventress.

"There you are," he muttered.

Saresh leaned forward, gesturing widely. "Before we begin, the illustrious Count, who has graciously allowed us this evening's entertainment, has a few words to say!"

A grudging silence fell.

Dooku stepped to the front. "Thank you, Saresh. Many of you have requested that the Jedi be put to death by the citizens."

Shouts of affirmation. Anakin folded his arms and feigned boredom.

"But these particular Jedi are two of the most powerful in the galaxy. Young Skywalker's feats are known throughout the galaxy. Master Kenobi killed a Sith when still very young."

"You did, General?" asked Ghost's voice.

"Yes, a long time ago." Obi-Wan sounded impatient. "I wonder what the good count's game is this time?"

When the jeering died down, Dooku smiled benevolently at the crowd. "For this reason, and for your protection, Asajj Ventress has decided it best that the Jedi and clone troopers should be pitted against only the best of Rattatak's gladiators . . . and the strongest of the Cauldron's creatures."

A surge of discontent and excitement echoed across the Force. Anakin shifted, trying to ignore the eddying and shifting emotions around him, and glanced at Echo, who was staring up at Dooku in patriotic dislike.

"Never run into the count before?" Anakin grinned.

"No, sir. This is our first assignment since Rishi."

"I know, I wasn't being serious –"

Echo tilted his head questioningly, and Anakin shrugged. "Never mind."

"Positions, General?" asked Fives, watching as the ray shield at the far end was shut off.

"Right. We've got . . ." Anakin looked around. "No cover. And no weapons."

"Great. How do we – what the heck is _that?_"

"Oh," called Obi-Wan from behind the bars. "This looks familiar."

A chittering noise rose over the yelling that surrounded them, and a huge, green, six-legged creature with clawed forelegs stalked out of the second cage. It reared back to scream at the crowd, and then it caught sight of Anakin. Shaking its head, it scampered toward them on four legs, keeping its pincers raised.

"Yeah, so that's an acklay," Anakin said, pulling back against the cage bars. "It's big, has a mouth full of spiny teeth, and stabs with its claws."

"Got it," said Fives. "We have a plan of attack?"

Anakin looked at him. "Not really?"

"Whatever you do, stay away from its teeth," Obi-Wan interjected helpfully from where he was clinging to the bars.

Anakin was in the middle of rolling his eyes when he came up with a plan. He motioned Fives and Echo to either side. "Stay against the cage! Obi-Wan, you and the other guys get ready!"

"I hope I'm not thinking the same thing you are," Obi-Wan said.

"You are." Anakin brought up both hands, using the Force to fling a sheet of sand at the advancing monster. It shrieked in pain, ducking its head and weaving from side to side for a moment as the crowd yelled its approval.

The acklay sprang at Anakin, flinging one claw straight at him. At the last possible instant, he ducked, and its claw went through the bars.

Obi-Wan sidestepped just in time. He and Waxer and Boil grabbed the acklay's claw, trapping it, and Anakin jumped, grabbing for its neck.

The second claw slammed into him from the side, knocking him sprawling, and he glanced up to see a mouthful of teeth nearing his face. Someone grabbed his wrists and jerked him, hard, and the acklay drew back at the same moment.

Fives yanked Anakin up and yelled, "Echo, you _idiot!"_

Bewildered, Anakin blinked his eyes free of sand and glanced around. The acklay was still trapped, straining to pull itself free. Its free claw snapped and clicked, trying to reach Echo, who was scrambling to back away.

Anakin reached out, willing the creature's attention back to him. It turned to face him. "Great," he muttered. "Now what?"

"Anakin!" called Obi-Wan. "I can hold it here."

"Yeah, good idea." With its focus on Obi-Wan, Anakin took a running start and leaped into the air, landing just behind its neck. "Fives! Echo! Get up here."

He leaned down to assist them. Echo used both hands to balance himself against the acklay's back. "General, how are we going to kill this thing?"

"Just stay ready," replied Anakin, and he locked his arms around its long neck, swinging around so that he was dragging its head toward the ground.

"Yeah, that'll work great." Fives, sounding incredibly unenthusiastic, leaned forward to keep his gaze on Anakin. "Anything you want us to do?"

"Gotta work on that attitude, Fives," grunted Anakin. "I'm not _trying _to choke it myself, I want it to –"

The acklay shook itself free of Obi-Wan's influence and snapped at Anakin with its pincer. "General Kenobi!" shouted Fives, catching on to the plan. "Let it go!"

With its second claw free, the acklay stumbled back, stabbing viciously at the human dangling from its neck. Anakin performed an upside down backflip, landing on its head with both feet, and promptly fell.

Echo caught his wrists, Fives dragged them both up, and they jumped free. The acklay staggered back on two legs, one claw through its own throat as it screeched and gurgled horribly.

Now that the threat of imminent death was no longer driving him, the shadows in Anakin's mind returned. He shook his head, trying to clear it as the crowd screamed, approval and anger radiating side by side through the huge building. The acklay crumpled to one side, finally falling silent, and the guards rushed back out into the arena.

Anakin was on his knees with a spear poking at his back before he realized what had happened, and the guards were shoving Echo and Fives back toward the caged room.

"The Jedi wins the first round!" Tar Saresh sounded gleeful.

Anakin glowered up at him. _A million credits. Money-grubbing scum._

* * *

The grenades had just exploded in the next room when a flash of even greater danger made Kit Fisto lunge forward.

The commando sergeant ducked, shouting, "Get _down!"_

Kit knew he wouldn't make it in time. He summoned the Force in a powerful blast that sent the regular troopers flying just as the missile hit.

He was thrown against the corner between the wall and the ceiling, his hastily summoned shield barely protecting him from the wave of light and heat. Shrapnel peppered his arms and hands, and he sent a vaguely thankful thought to Commander Monnk, who had introduced him to the novel idea of wearing vambraces in battle.

He only realized he'd fallen again because his knees gave out when he hit the floor, and he barely caught himself in time to prevent smashing his face against the stones.

The ringing in his ears was gradually replaced with shouting and laserfire. Rex was yelling for his men to fall back.

Kit Fisto groped for his lightsaber and stumbled upright.

Directly in front of him, Sev was in a half-kneeling position, his pistol lifted and firing repeatedly. Boss had fallen to one side and was struggling to rise, while Scorch crawled toward his rifle. Fixer limped toward the door, shooting between the other troopers, who were desperately fighting to hold back the oncoming horde.

Kit steadied himself and lunged forward, his lightsaber humming to life.

A super battle droid stepped through the door and fired twice. Gadget fell back with a cry, and Kix turned toward him, leaving the cover of the door.

Fixer dragged him back. "Keep fighting," he ordered in a flat voice, then lunged forward to stab his vibroblade into the droid's chest plate.

Kit Fisto leaped by him, slashing the droid in two. "We'll cover you, Kix."

Kix didn't answer, but his medic's pack was already off his shoulders.

"Right behind you, sir," said Fixer. He followed Kit through the door and stepped to the side, firing whenever he had an opening. Rex and Scorch joined them an instant later, and between the Jedi's lightsaber and the clones' blasters and grenades, they had the room clear in a few moments.

"Fall back," Rex ordered, lowering his guns.

They re-entered the hall. Kix knelt over Gadget, who was gasping and twisting, his hands clenched as the medic removed his armor. He took one look at the damage and tensed.

"We've got to move before they send reinforcements," Fixer said, sounding as though he were quoting from something.

"No," snapped Kix, yanking out an analgesic and jabbing it into Gadget's neck. "We can't move him."

"I'm not going to make it," Gadget ground out. "You guys –"

"Shut up." Kix shoved the torn edges of the black bodysuit away from the injury. "I'm doing everything I can."

Fixer turned and went back to his squad. Boss was just getting up, one hand clasped tightly against his side.

Kit Fisto knelt beside Kix and held a hand over Gadget. "You can do nothing more here, Kix," he said.

It didn't take a Jedi to feel the heated glare Kix gave him, but Kit Fisto remained calm. "I have some skill at healing. There are others who need your own skills."

He closed his eyes and entered a healing trance, only vaguely aware that Kix had obeyed him.

* * *

**I've got a bit of leeway with my plot, so if you have any ideas about what else should be involved in the arena fight, now's the time to mention them! :)**


	30. Chapter 30

**Guys, this story has 6,116 views - ! Guess that means I'd better put Kix in this chapter . . .**

**. . . I mean, to be honest, I was going to anyway . . . :)  
**

* * *

Rex scanned the room, which was empty of everything but dysfunctional droids, before turning back into the corridor. General Fisto knelt near the door, his expression serene as he held one hand over Gadget, who lay barely conscious, mouth tight with pain despite the meds Kix had given him.

At the far end of the corridor, Kix was busy patching up a laser burn on Snap's arm while Jesse checked all their weapons.

Behind him, Boss nodded to Scorch and got to his feet as though he'd never been injured. Rex knew that commandos were given bacta-processing implants, but he hadn't realized they worked so quickly. Of course, considering the number of enemies they went up against on a daily basis, they probably needed the implants to complete each mission, let alone many in a row. . .

Kix, who had expressed doubt when told the commandos didn't need his help at the moment, performed a slight double-take when they moved quickly past him to join Rex.

"Captain," said Boss. "Games started nearly five minutes ago. Want us to get up there and start causing trouble?"

Rex shook his head. "We only get one shot at this."

"Yeah," Scorch interjected. "But hesitation causes casualties."

"So does rushing in," Rex replied firmly. "The hall beyond that room goes in two directions. Two groups, let's find our way through this place. Kix!"

"Yes, Captain."

"Stay here. Get Gadget back to the ship once the general's ready and then join us."

"Yes, sir." Kix slung his medic pack back on his shoulders and readied his blaster.

Rex gestured to the others and led them toward the next corridor. "Snap, you're with me. Sergeant?"

Boss' orange-marked helmet tilted consideringly. "Fixer, Scorch, go with Rex. Jesse, Sev, with me."

The clones moved across the room at a run, pausing at the doorway for an instant to make sure they were clear to move. Boss lowered his left fist in a sharp motion, and they split into two groups, veering in opposite directions.

Rex tapped his comm before they'd reached the end of the hall. "Whoever finds that jamming device, shut it down."

"Yes, sir." Sev's low voice was already almost inaudible.

They entered the next room they came to, and Rex surveyed the computer system as Fixer moved over to it. "Comm center?"

"Most likely." Fixer flipped a switch. The screen blinked on, demanding a password, and he plugged a small device into the console, which flashed red, then green. The password vanished, to be replaced with the access screen. Fixer leaned forward, tapping it. "Comm center _and_ control center."

"Good." Rex checked the door, but Scorch and Snap were guarding it. "Which systems can you access?"

Fixer glanced over at him. "Which ones do you want?"

* * *

Boss stepped through a door and jerked back once the droids had seen him. He switched his pistol to his left hand and dropped to one knee to let Sev fire over his shoulder.

"That's a kill," Sev said.

Jesse leaned around the edge of the door and fired twice. "That was actually your fourth kill in this room."

Sev shrugged, stepping past Boss to get a better angle. "I never count them all – out loud."

Boss holstered his pistol and gestured them into the room. A flicker of static crossed over his HUD screen, and he paused. "Well, well. I think we've found the jamming device."

* * *

"Release the kath hounds!" shouted Tar Saresh, gesturing dramatically. "And put Skywalker back!"

Two guards dragged Anakin to his feet and forced him back toward the cage. He jerked away and brought his clasped hands down on the back of the human's neck before kicking the Weequay in the stomach.

The heavily armored guard grabbed Anakin and threw him into the prison room. He slammed into Ghost and scrambled upright, turning to rush back into the fight. Ghost caught his arms, stopping him just before Anakin would have run into the electrostaff the guard was pointing at him.

He reluctantly stayed where he was.

"Jedi Kenobi, come!" Saresh flung his arms out. "Prove yourself to be the great Jedi of the stories, or die ignominiously!"

"My, my," said Obi-Wan, edging by the guard's staff. "Such advanced vocabulary for so uncivilized a person."

The guard hit him.

"General," said Boil, as he also moved outside. "Maybe you shouldn't talk while they're still here."

The Weequay punched him against the wall.

Obi-Wan sniffed sardonically. "I think you may be right."

Boil gave him a look that was a cross between unimpressed and irritated. Waxer and Det were brought up behind them, and the door swung shut.

The prisoners inside moved up to the bars.

"Okay," said Fives slowly. "We beat the acklay. . . They're just going to keep putting us in there?"

Anakin rubbed his forehead. "You've never seen an arena fight before, have you?"

The animals' cage creaked open.

"It wasn't exactly a recommended form of recreation on Kamino, sir," said Fives.

Anakin sniffed.

A dozen heavy, horned animals charged into the arena, shaking the ground and tilting their heads from side to side.

"Kath hounds are naturally non-aggressive beings," announced Obi-Wan as the baying creatures lunged across the sand-covered floor.

The clones all stared at him in tandem.

"Master," yelled Anakin as the hounds drew nearer. "Stop focusing on their mindset and start focusing on surviving!"

"Not to worry, Anakin." Taking a step back, Obi-Wan held out both hands and bent his head.

Beside him, Det flinched back from the oncoming creatures. Waxer elbowed him and signaled 'wait'.

A moment later, the kath hounds slowed their headlong charge and drew closer to Obi-Wan, snapping their tusked jaws every few steps.

Trap shifted his weight. "What is the general doing?"

"Same thing he did on Ryloth," replied Ghost.

The kath hounds walked slowly toward Obi-Wan, who just as slowly walked backward and sideways, edging toward the room where the guards were sequestered.

The crowd seemed as mesmerized as the creatures, but Dooku leaned forward to whisper to Saresh.

"Get ready, men," Obi-Wan called out.

Boil, Waxer and Det flanked the creatures, staying a few meters away.

The guards in the room edged away, looking alarmed.

With a sudden flurry of motion, Obi-Wan lowered his arms and jumped away. The lead hound tilted its head sideways and charged, straight into the electrified shield surrounding the guardroom. It sprang back with an agonized howl, and the other creatures responded, flinging themselves against the threat.

The shield crackled, flickered, and vanished. The metal bars bent. The guards fired repeatedly at the animals, killing two.

Det rushed forward, jammed his arm between the bars, and snatched a gun from the nearest guard. He turned to fire.

A kath hound slammed into him, throwing him back against the bars. The gun went flying, and Waxer retrieved it as Obi-Wan rushed in to pull Det away.

The crowd's screaming intensified as the heavy animals broke through the bolted door and the guards scrambled to protect themselves. Shoving an unconscious Det at Boil, Obi-Wan dropped to his knees, once more focusing his will on the creatures.

After a long, tension-filled moment, the hounds turned and moved slowly back toward the Jedi. The air shook with the citizens' disapproving shouts.

Anakin stared, unable to believe his eyes. Rather than trying to escape, Obi-Wan was deliberately putting himself in harm's way for the_ enemy_?

Waxer hesitated, unwilling to fire and break the trance Obi-Wan held the kath hounds in. Boil dragged Det back to the cage and dropped him in the sand before rushing back to the cage, which was now empty – the guards had escaped through a door in the back.

Boil and Waxer wrenched the door completely open, rushed in, and snatched up all the weapons they could carry.

"Get 'em in here, guys!" hissed Trap encouragingly.

Namer knelt, leaning through the bars to shake Det.

At the far end of the arena, another door opened, and armored guards rushed in.

"Boil!" snapped Anakin. "Get me a weapon, now!"

Waxer shoved two holdout blasters through the bars, and Flash snatched them up and shoved one in Anakin's direction.

Anakin leaned against the bars and took aim. "Kill the hounds first!"

Trap and Fives were also armed by now, and they and Flash fired rapidly at the remaining kath hounds. Anakin took out the lead one with a neat shot to the head, then sent three shots into the sand in front of the oncoming guards. "STAY BACK!"

They stopped abruptly, looking up at Tar Saresh for direction.

Waxer and Boil moved back to Obi-Wan, flanking him. Trap and Flash covered them while Anakin and Fives pointed their own weapons up at the main viewing balcony.

The orange Twi'lek leaned over the railing, grinning widely. "An excellent performance, Jedi Kenobi! But you must realize I cannot let you keep those weapons."

Obi-Wan looked up and observed their captor before calling back, "We've killed your acklay and your kath hounds. Do you still have more creatures?"

"But of course, Jedi!" Saresh flung his arms out to the roaring applause of the people. "First, though – your weapons."

None of the prisoners moved.

The guards edged closer.

Something flickered at the back of Anakin's consciousness. He jerked his arm back through the bars and whirled just as the prison door slammed open.

An enormous, brown-skinned Zabrak lunged into the room and swung a vicious, right-handed blow at Ghost, who dodged straight into his second blow. The Zabrak yanked him upright, using him as a shield while more guards rushed into the room.

The barred door lifted into the ceiling, allowing the prisoners access to the sandy pit beyond. The Zabrak moved in that direction, and Anakin leaned toward the sudden illusion of freedom. The crowd screamed. The armed clones stepped back, gaining room to fire.

A few meters away, Obi-Wan, Waxer and Boil faced down their own opponents.

Anakin turned his attention back to the closest battle and took a deep breath. "All right, guys. It's do or die here."

The Zabrak sneered and glanced over his own men. "Take them down."

Ghost slammed his elbow back into his captor's stomach, and Anakin lunged, using his pistol like a club as the clones rushed at the guards. The Zabrak, still keeping Ghost in an armlock despite the trooper's repeated attacks, brushed Anakin's blow aside and kicked out, sweeping his feet from under him.

Anakin scrambled back, scarcely avoiding the kick aimed at his chin. Ghost took advantage of his captor's lapse in concentration and shoved him off-balance, breaking free and turning to attack. Anakin jumped to his feet, but Ghost had already lashed out.

The Zabrak caught his blow in one hand, pivoted on his heel, and lifted his knee, jerking Ghost's outstretched arm down against it. Anakin flinched at the sharp _snap _of armor and bone that followed.

Ghost reeled back, and the Zabrak lunged into the arena, threw Waxer to one side, and attacked Obi-Wan.

"My friends!" Saresh's voice boomed through the loudspeakers. "You all remember Viscus Gaan, undisputed champion of the Cauldron!"

Roars of approval followed, and the Zabrak flung Obi-Wan to land several meters away before bowing to the crowd.

Anakin Force-lifted a guard and threw him into the wall, but Tar Saresh talked over the noise of the battle. "Gaan, let us see if you can defeat the Jedi and their men!"

Fives, who was struggling upright from having his face shoved into the sand, yelled in irritation. "Agh! Does he _ever _shut UP?!"

The guard who knelt on his back drew a gun. Flash swooped in, plucked it from his grasp, and struck him over the head with it. Fives bucked the now-unconscious man off and floundered upright, cursing and spitting sand.

The arena was in chaos. Anakin gritted his teeth, dodged a flying guard – _nice one, Trap – _and leaped into the air, coming down hard on Gaan's back. They both went sprawling, but the Zabrak got up first, picking Anakin up by the front of his tunic. "You have lost."

Anakin kicked him in the stomach. "I _thought _you were supposed to kill us!"

The Zabrak laughed and threw him back. He landed against Obi-Wan, knocking them both flat.

Obi-Wan grunted in annoyance. "Get _off_ me, Anakin!"

"Well, sorry. . ." Anakin got up, took a quick breath, and plunged back into the fray.

* * *

**Moving into the endgame! HAHAHAHAHAH!**

**Evil, maniacal laughter is just part of my Fridays, okay? Okay, great. Now, I know a lot of CW fan fiction gets published over the weekend, but do you guys want me to keep posting anyway? I'll try my darndest to get another chapter out.**

**Also - just an irrelevant side note. . . I was re-watching the Citadel arc, and I realized why it's so sad when any of the clones die in the TV show. The clones all have the same 'basic' character, which means that even if they show up on screen for half a minute (Longshot!) we already know them, even if we don't _know _them.**

**Just thought I'd share that at random . . . even though you probably all figured it out a looong time ago . . . :D**


	31. Chapter 31

**This chapter is for Slim Sherman, who has been ruthlessly and relentlessly demanding to know Cody's whereabouts since Chapter 25. **

* * *

Kit Fisto came out of his healing trance, gradually recovering awareness of his surroundings. Most of the soldiers had left a few minutes before, with only Kix remaining nearby. Gadget was awake and watching him, his gaze awed and curious.

Kit grinned and rested a hand on his arm. "You're not healed yet, Gadget, but you'll live."

". . . Thank you, General."

Kix, who had come over at the first movement from the Jedi, knelt to check the injury. "General, this is – I've never seen anything like it!"

"It is a useful ability," replied Kit Fisto, getting up and stretching. "Unfortunately, not all Jedi are capable of it."

He and Kix, with Gadget between them, were halfway to the entrance when their comms blinked and Boss' voice said, "Jamming device disabled. Check in."

Advisor's voice came through clearly. "Good work, Delta Lead."

"Four-Oh reporting. We're in the control room."

Kit Fisto lifted his free arm. "General Fisto here. Oddball, we're coming up on the shuttle."

"I've got you on sensors, sir."

Rex spoke next. "If we've got sensors back, so do the enemy. Regroup at the control room ASAP."

Oddball ran down the ramp to join them. "General."

Kit transferred Gadget's arm to his shoulders before speaking again. "Captain, can you see what is happening in the arena?"

"Fixer's trying to get access. We've got the schematics for this place, though. . . And I have a few ideas."

Kit Fisto nodded, thinking that the captain sounded very much like Anakin at times.

"We'll pick you up on our way by, sir," Boss offered.

"Very well. We'll be with you momentarily."

Kix rejoined him. "All set, General."

"Good." Kit Fisto clicked off his commlink. "Let's not keep them waiting."

The two of them broke into a run, heading back for the room they'd just left.

* * *

Cody recovered consciousness with a jerk. Keeping his eyes closed, he mentally listed off what he could ascertain with his other senses: he was lying on his side, his hands were cuffed behind his head, his throat hurt, and there were no sounds indicating the presence of enemies.

He shifted, then added one more thing to the list: his muscles felt as though he'd spent the last day running suicides. _ARC training was not fun. Commander Colt and his endurance drills . . . Where am I? _

Did it even matter? He couldn't get out of Dooku's office one way or the other.

_Oh, wait. Dooku's office . . . that's where I am. _

Cody shook his head, trying to get a grip on his wandering thoughts, just as one of Colt's frequent sayings rang in his head. "A slow soldier is a dead soldier."

With a reluctant sigh, Cody opened his eyes and got slowly to his knees, wondering exactly how many times on this mission he was going to be knocked unconscious. First when he'd been captured, then when he and General Skywalker were re-captured, then . . . _What happened this time? Something about Ventress._

Cody brought his hands down from behind his head and used the wall for support as he dragged himself painfully to his feet. Ventress had brought him here. Cody tried to take a step and promptly collapsed. _Maybe I should give it a minute. . . _

He glanced at the desk.

Dooku had been sitting behind the desk, speaking with a huge Zabrak male. As Cody came in, the Sith lord was speaking. "Kill Kenobi, not Skywalker. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Count." The Zabrak bowed and left.

Cody was wondering if he'd heard wrong – hadn't Dooku been trying to kill General Skywalker since Geonosis? – when Ventress shoved him to his knees. "I'll return to my post, Master."

"Thank you, Ventress. Commander. I have some questions for you."

_Primary interrogation protocol: the prisoner must not engage the interrogator in conversation._ But protocol said nothing about not acknowledging the questioner's presence, so Cody gave Dooku a challenging look.

Dooku stood up, set his communicator down, and came around the desk. "I expected stubbornness. You are a commander, after all. But it would be to your advantage to obey me."

Protocol also said nothing about not making comments in one's head. Cody decided that it would be to his advantage to reply mentally. _If you're smart enough to know I'm a commander, then you're smart enough to know that I'm not going to answer. _

Dooku looked at him keenly, as though he'd heard his thoughts. Maybe he had. The Jedi had some. . . weird abilities, and Dooku was, after all, a fallen Jedi. He probably had even weirder abilities.

"You are Commander Cody of the Two-Twelfth Legion."

_No, really. _

The count raised his white eyebrows. "I don't have much time, Commander, so I'll come straight to the point. I know you came here to capture Ventress. Why?"

_It's a long story. _

"I could tear the answer from your mind."

_I'll bet fifty credits you don't know that the generals have been teaching us how to mind-shield. _Cody was especially proficient at it. Rex was not – attack, not defense, was his strong point. Still, even Rex had resisted Ventress' mind tricks with ease.

Dooku stared at him for a moment, his eyes dark and piercing. Cody stared back, and Dooku frowned. "Perhaps it would be a waste of my time."

_Perhaps you're just not very good at it. You didn't even try. _Cody couldn't remember the last time he'd been this . . . disrespectful. General Skywalker was really having an influence on him. _Now there's a disturbing thought. _

"I'll ask one more time. Why did the Jedi want Ventress?"

Cody kept his mouth shut.

Dooku lowered his hands and narrowed his eyes. "You _will_ answer me."

Blue electricity arched from his fingertips. Cody had just time to register alarm before he was on the ground, biting his tongue and yanking the handcuffs against the back of his neck to keep himself quiet.

Then the searing pain stopped, and Cody dragged himself to his knees again, calling the Sith in general, and Dooku in particular, every unflattering name he could dream up.

Dooku took a step closer. "I'm sure you know Ventress is my apprentice. You will understand that I must know the Jedi's plans for her."

Cody spat blood at his feet.

The count gazed down at him, looking almost bored. "I have destroyed Jedi before."

_Yeah, yourself, maybe. _Cody tested the cuffs, wondering if he had enough time to bring his hands down and attack Dooku. He considered for a moment. It would be better to get the strands holding the cuffs together over Dooku's head and around his throat.

"Well, Commander?"

Cody only needed a half-second of distraction. . . He stared fixedly at the three lightsabers hanging from the count's belt, then back up, as though startled.

Dooku reached for General Skywalker's lightsaber and tapped it thoughtfully. "You seem surprised, Commander."

Cody glanced slightly to one side in an expression he'd seen guilty shinies use when called out by their superiors. _Next time Wolffe calls me out on my sabacc face . . ._

Dooku moved closer. "Do you have reason to think that Skywalker is in possession of a lightsaber?"

Cody went absolutely still.

A flicker of concern passed through Dooku's eyes before he turned toward where he had left his commlink.

Cody jumped to his feet and lunged, slamming his weight against Dooku's back and knocking the older man off-balance. Before he could bring his hands down, a violent Force-push slammed into him, pinning him against the opposite wall.

He coughed and choked, struggling to regain his breath.

"Very clever." Dooku approached slowly, still holding one hand out. His expression was terrifyingly neutral. "I am finished with this foolishness, Commander. Why does the Jedi Council want Ventress?"

He lowered his hand, and Cody dropped to his knees. Back during the RTI course that all ARC troopers were put through, Rex had been rebuked for his failure to comply with primary interrogation protocol. He'd always start out quiet, but within five minutes, he'd be sassing off to his questioners.

Dooku raised his hands.

_I think I know why, now, _Cody mused. Secondary interrogation protocol: deliberately focus on something else. _It's a lot more fun fighting back than just – _

The room and his thoughts were cut off by another burst of lightning, which stopped almost instantly. Cody tried to get up, failed, and settled for leaning against the wall on his knees.

"This is your last chance before I make you beg for death."

_He couldn't use an electrostaff like a normal person, _Cody thought. _No, he's got to use that kriffing Sith lightning. . . !_

He glared at Dooku, inwardly cringing at what he knew was about to come.

This time, the lightning went on . . . and on . . . and on . . . By the time Cody had counted to ten, he'd stopped trying not to scream.

Cody rubbed his forehead, wincing at the memory. He'd been questioned once more after that. Hadn't answered. Dooku had tortured him until he lost consciousness. Maybe the count had actually been telling the truth when he said he didn't have much time.

_Maybe I should be grateful he's not back yet. _Cody jerked himself back to the present. _Stop wasting time. _He got up again, then leaned against the wall until he felt more steady before taking a careful step forward. He doubted that Dooku had left the door unlocked . . .

He reached the door and tested it. It was locked. There didn't seem to be blasters lying around, either, so Cody moved to the desk. Locked. The commlink was gone. The only thing left was the computer, which Cody powered up. _Let's see if I can do anything from this end. _

He glanced at the door. When he turned back, the screen was filling up with security alerts. Cody leaned on the desk, staring. The entire network had been sliced, and safety measures were being shut off even as he watched. Cody's men, especially Snap, were better at disabling security than Rex's men, but even Snap wasn't this fast. _Rex must have called in the commandos. . . Count Dooku's day is about to get a whole lot worse. _

There was a _click _as the door's lock disengaged, and Cody slapped the power switch, spinning around to face the newcomer. A tall, wide-shouldered man wearing plate armor stepped in and looked at him. "Good. You're awake."

Cody studied the man's weapons. Several knives in his belt, one behind his shoulders, and one strapped to the outside of each boot.

"Get a move on," the man said, gripping his shoulder and pushing him towards the door. "Saresh wants you in the Cauldron."

_Perfect. _Cody staggered to one side. The guard sighed loudly, grabbed his arm, and jerked him toward the door. Cody collapsed.

The guard kicked him, hauled him to his feet, and pushed him out of the room. The idiot didn't notice that he was missing the knife from his right boot. He didn't even seem to notice that Cody was clutching at his left side, even though he'd been kicked in the right side. Cody smirked all the way up to the Cauldron arena.

* * *

**That was a hard scene to write. . . mainly because I was really trying to keep Cody accurate. I think he's naturally good at 'manipulating' - or should I say 'tricking' people into doing things, and working with Obi-Wan's probably only made that tendency stronger. . . Let me know what you thought! :)**


	32. Chapter 32

**Happy Memorial Day, everyone! Today we remember those who have fallen in the service of the United States . . . To all those who are reading this from other countries, whether you celebrate Memorial Day, Armistice Day, Anzac Day, Remembrance Day, Dodenherdenking, Volkstrauertag, or any others that I am not aware of . . . Though the date we Americans celebrate on is different from the dates you celebrate on, and while today I particularly remember the American soldiers, I also offer my prayers for all the fallen soldiers of the world. Loyalty, courage, honor and sacrifice are not determined by race or nationality.**

* * *

Viscus Gaan moved from one side of the fight to the other, scarcely staying in one spot long enough to deal a devastating blow before moving on to the next opponent. He caught Waxer around the neck and threw him to the ground, shoved one of his own guards out of the way, punched Fives in the side of the head, and kicked Echo's feet out from under him.

Anakin rushed after Gaan, dodging and ducking through the brawl that surrounded him. He sidestepped Obi-Wan, who was dealing with his own opponent, and finally caught up with the Zabrak.

Gaan turned to face him with a challenging sneer, his eyes flickering up to the angrily screaming crowd. Anakin skidded to a halt and smirked. "They're still waiting for someone to die. You know, you're not giving 'em a very good show."

Behind him, Obi-Wan groaned. "_Anakin_."

The Zabrak cracked his neck. His voice was calm and matter-of-fact when he spoke. "I'll tear you to shreds, Jedi."

Anakin laughed. "Yeah, I don't think so. My guys already took out yours."

It was true. The guards lay strewn about the arena pit, some having been knocked out, and others shot with their own weapons. Obi-Wan came up beside Anakin just as Flash and Trap knocked the last man unconscious with a few well-placed blows.

Gaan raised an arm and looked up at Tar Saresh. The orange Twi'lek, no longer looking quite as cheerful, leaned halfway over the stone balcony. "Cal," he said, pointing at the prisoners. "All except the Jedi."

A group of Weequay in the front row stood up, readying their blasters, and the clones dove for cover. Stun shots sizzled into the sand behind them, driving them back towards the prison. As Anakin ran forward to help them, he seriously considered getting shot on purpose, just to ruin Saresh's plans.

Echo and Boil were hit. Ghost, his broken arm held awkwardly against his side, stopped to help Waxer. Det, who had only just regained consciousness, staggered as another shot flashed past. Namer grabbed his arm and jerked him toward cover, and Obi-Wan jumped between them and the Weequay.

Anakin, busy dragging Echo into the cover of the guardroom with Fives, barely noticed that Gaan had vanished.

They huddled in the corner as blue lasers hit the edge of the doorway, and Fives checked the gun he carried. He aimed at the sand outside and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. Fives' frown was audible in his voice. "Looks like they remotely deactivated this."

Flash dove into the room, a shot just catching the side of his hand, and landed awkwardly. He was forced to roll aside as Trap barreled in, moving so fast that he hit the back wall and bounced off, smacking into Flash. They went down in a tangle with Fives.

"Any chance we can get the exit door open?" asked Trap, struggling upright.

Anakin climbed over Echo and got up, looking around for the control panel. "It's worth a shot."

Just as he caught sight of it, a laser flashed past and hit it.

Trap let out a surprised laugh. "Worth a shot, all right."

Flash shoved Fives aside and stared at the sparking panel. "We've got to do something!"

Anakin, who had been about to say the same thing, shut his mouth and peered out at the prison room instead. Obi-Wan stood just outside it, his posture calm but his eyes uncertain. The barred door slid abruptly from the ceiling, cutting him off from the troopers, and he jerked forward.

Anakin cast a quick look at the door to the guardroom, but it had been so mangled by the kath hounds that it couldn't close on its own.

_Thank the Force._

Impatient yells and shouts of 'Kill the Jedi!' filled the air. A guard spoke quietly to Count Dooku, who waved him aside with a pleased nod.

"Saresh," he said, his voice audible through the speakers.

"My good people!" cried Saresh. "Have patience – I promise you the Jedi _will _die this time!"

* * *

Delta Thirty-Eight entered the control room, General Fisto a few steps behind. Rex glanced up from the computer station and gestured. "Good. Hurry, general. Look what we found."

Boss joined him, glancing over Fixer's shoulder. "You accessed the security cameras."

"Yes, sir. I also located the terminal where the communications originated. This feed is from less than two minutes ago."

He selected a screen, and it expanded to show a plain room. Cody, leaning heavily against the desk, was staring at the computer screen and looking almost pleased about something. The scarred commander glanced directly up at the camera, then suddenly shut the computer off, spinning to face the door.

Boss watched as Cody faked a collapse and stole a knife from the guard.

"That guy didn't even notice?" Scorch asked scornfully.

Snap shifted. "We'll have to get the commander out."

Rex nodded. "Yeah. Fixer, show 'em the live feeds."

Boss turned back to the screens. One showed a caged area with an immense, blue-green snake coiled in and around itself. It lifted its head, shifting a flat-nosed face from side to side, a long tongue flicking in and out between fanged jaws.

Another screen showed a caged area as well. Several troopers were gathered at one side, staring out into the arena. There was no sign of General Skywalker. Behind him, Jesse muttered, "Where are the others?"

The second screen showed a vast room, filled with sand. General Kenobi stood at one end, two blasters at his throat while men worked to drag dead or unconscious guards from the area. There was no sign of the other prisoners. Boss tilted his head, observing the dead acklay and kath hounds. "Looks like the Jedi aren't doing too badly."

"Indeed." General Fisto narrowed his eyes. He seemed uncertain.

Boss glanced at Rex, who was frowning at the arena's security feed. Snap, Jesse and Kix stood between Sev and Scorch, and all of them were looking at the general, waiting for his direction.

Fixer stepped aside and turned to Boss, who waited a moment more before speaking. "Advisor, you getting all this?"

"Affirmative. Accessing system right. . . _now. _Give me a minute."

Jesse and Scorch looked at each other, but neither of them said what everyone was probably thinking – that they might not _have_ a minute.

The commandos had been trained to handle hostage situations, but this was nothing like any situation they'd been trained for. There were approximately four thousand citizens to deal with, not a simple group of gangsters or bounty hunters. There was no leverage for the troopers to work with, nothing that could prevent the disaster that would take place if the citizens tried to prevent the prisoners from escaping.

"It is possible that I could take Ventress hostage," said Kit Fisto. "I would go in alone while you got the others out."

Rex rested a hand against his mouth, eyebrows drawn together in thought. "You'd have to deal with Ventress _and_ Dooku."

No one spoke.

Boss looked at Sev, who shook his head slightly; then at Scorch, who shrugged; and then at Fixer, who tilted his head. None of them had any ideas. Boss turned to stare at the schematics. Commandos were the best the GAR had to offer. They were trained to handle any situation, to think and fight their way through or around any problems they might encounter. They were meant to succeed or die in the attempt. Their best chance of success here would be to destroy the Cauldron from the outside, and they couldn't. Not without risking the citizens' lives.

Snap leaned over and tapped the screen that showed the clones. "We could go in through the prison, get these guys out first."

"Advisor," said Rex. "What can you do from your end?"

"I can shut off the power, access controls . . . You'll have to get by some guards, but otherwise you're clear to get to the prison cell. There are two halls that'll take you to guardrooms on either side of the arena."

Kit Fisto spun to face the others, drawing his lightsaber. His earlier hesitance seemed to have vanished. "We have only a small chance of success, but we must take it all the same. Sergeant, Captain, I will do what I can to cause a distraction, but you must get the others out."

"Yes, General." Boss signed for the others to form up, not even noticing that he had taken the lead until they were halfway down the hall.

Advisor kept speaking in his ear. "Take a right, then up the stairs. Ten lifeforms, and the next door takes you into the prison cell. There's a narrow corridor in the guarded hallway which leads into the east guard room."

"Right," said Rex. "What about the west one?"

"You'd have to get to the other side of the arena to reach that one."

The clones reached the door. "Unlock on my mark, Advisor," ordered Rex.

"Yes, Captain."

Boss leaned back against the wall opposite from Rex, his rifle ready. Jesse and Snap stood beside the captain. Scorch and Fixer hung back a little, ready to provide cover fire, while Sev knelt on the stairs, his rifle aimed between them.

"Just keep out of my way," he muttered.

Scorch waved a casual acknowledgment. "Yeah, yeah."

Rex clicked his comm. The light on the door turned green. Rex triggered the motion sensor, and the door hissed open. Sev fired first. Boss waited until Scorch and Fixer had settled into a firing pattern, then swung around the door and stepped back against the wall on the opposite side.

The guards, all Weequay, fired back after only a half-instant of surprise, but the delay was too much for them. Snap and Jesse ducked in across from Thirty-Eight, who focused his fire on the enemies at his side of the hall.

A shot hit him, but though the impact left him feeling winded, his shields held. One Weequay reached for an alarm button. Snap fired and missed, probably because his injury wasn't allowing him to hold his gun properly, but Sev's shot took out the panel just before the alarm could be triggered. The Weequay jerked back, and Boss put a few shots in his leg to take him down. He glanced over the hall, then at his men.

"Okay," said Rex. "Get the second door open."

"This one has a manual lock," said Advisor. "Four-Oh –"

Snap was already at the door, fitting a scrambler to the lock. It clicked a moment later, and Snap put it back on his belt, angling a look at Fixer. "Gadget said you fixed it up for him. It works well."

Fixer gave a slight shrug, watching as the door opened.

Just as Rex stepped forward, someone leaped out of the room and slammed into him, knocking him flat.

Snap tilted his head, reached down, and grabbed the assailant's arms. "Boil! It's us, you bonehead!"

Boil scrambled to let Rex up. "Sorry, sir!"

Four more troopers hurried out, and Rex looked them over quickly. "Namer, where are the others?"

"Four troopers and General Skywalker are in the guardroom, over there." He pointed to the western side of the arena. "Ghost and Det are injured, but the rest of us are fine, sir."

"Anything life-threatening?"

"Not immediately."

Rex turned to Snap. "Take Ghost and Det to the ship. Waxer, Boil, help him out."

"Should we return after, Captain?" asked Waxer.

"Hold position at the control room. We'll be sending others down to you."

"Yes, sir!"

With Snap leading the way, Waxer and Boil each took charge of one of the other two. The 501st trooper must have been hit in the head. His eyes weren't focusing on anything, and he kept stumbling in place. The 212th trooper was alert enough, and even cast an interested look at Sev's sniper rifle, but his right arm looked broken.

As they left, Kix shifted slightly in their direction. Namer noticed, and as Rex led the others back to the corridor, he fell in beside the medic and gave him a quick update on the troopers' injuries.

"No one's died yet?" Kix asked, sounding surprised.

"The generals," replied Namer, as though that were all the explanation needed.

* * *

**I'd love to hear what you thought of this! :) Do you like it, love it, dislike it, hate it. . .? What can I do to improve it? Am I failing to mention certain subjects or people enough? Is any character acting inaccurately? :) Thanks!**


	33. Chapter 33

**Here you go, guys! :) I hope you're all doing well!**

* * *

Cody stumbled and caught himself against the wall. The guard grabbed his arm and pushed him toward a staircase. "Move it, the Count's waiting."

_Not a great incentive. _Cody kept moving, quietly assessing his chances of success against his guard. The man was heavily armored, as well as being a couple inches taller and a good forty pounds heavier than Cody. Although he didn't seem particularly bright, he moved quickly.

Cody gripped the knife's hilt, visualizing the moves he'd have to make to successfully take down the guard. If he failed, he'd lose his weapon, and therefore any chance he might have had against Dooku. If he succeeded . . . Count Dooku was waiting, and if Cody never showed up, Dooku would send men after him. Cody would lose his weapon, and any chance he might have had. . .

He stumbled again, frowning inwardly. The third option was to take out the guard, find his way to Dooku, and take him hostage.

"In here," the man ordered.

_And the fourth option is to wait until I'm brought to Dooku and then hope for the best. _Cody hesitated for a moment, decided that option four was the most viable, and edged past the guard, careful to keep the knife hidden beneath his forearm.

From somewhere down the hall, Cody heard a brief rustle of cloth against stone.

* * *

Anakin leaned against the guardroom wall and poked his head cautiously around the doorway. Obi-Wan stood where the guards had told him to, directly in the center of the arena, as the last kath hound's corpse was dragged to another room near the animals' cage.

"What's going on?" whispered Flash.

Anakin made a chopping motion with one hand and continued to look carefully around the expanse of sand-covered floor. Obi-Wan met his gaze and raised both eyebrows with a tiny shrug, as though to say, 'What am I supposed to do?'

Anakin shrugged back. _Not my problem, Master._

Obi-Wan blinked disdainfully.

Fives crawled up to the door, cast a quick look out, and jerked back as a stun round nearly hit him in the face. "Okay. . . That's gonna be a problem."

"Wait!" Echo's tone was low but excited as he pointed toward the prison room. "The other guys are gone!"

"What?" Anakin whipped his head around and smacked his still-sore nose against Trap's shoulder as the clone moved forward to see. "Ow!"

"Sorry, sir." Trap didn't sound particularly sorry. "How do you think they got out?"

"And why hasn't Saresh noticed?" added Flash.

Anakin checked the balcony again. "He can only see about half the cell. Well, looks like Rex and other guys finally got here."

"Jedi Kenobi!"

At the sound of Saresh's voice, Anakin exchanged irritated looks with the clones.

"I'm right here," Obi-Wan called back, because of course he couldn't just wait for the Twi'lek to finish his sentence. Anakin sighed.

"You will combat the anakkona!" Saresh went on. "To win, you must kill it."

The gates opened to the citizens' excited cheers, and Anakin rubbed at his forehead. The sound of four thousand people screaming did not help his headache, which was getting worse by the minute.

He glanced around the door's edge. An enormous, blue-green snake slithered out into the arena, moving sideways. It weaved its head back and forth, testing the air with a flicker of its tongue. Snapping its jaws, which were easily larger than Obi-Wan, it glided toward him.

"We'll distract it, sir," said Trap, leaning forward.

"Not yet." Anakin kept his focus on the creature. "Obi-Wan can handle it for the moment. Wait for my signal."

* * *

Rex entered the guardroom and moved slowly to the door, peering out between the bars. General Kenobi stood in the center of the arena, apparently at ease. Directly across from Rex and some forty meters away was the second guardroom. "General Skywalker's there, all right."

He watched as Fives jerked back after nearly taking a stunbolt to the face. "We need a way to get them out without being seen."

Boss ambled over and scoped out the arena. "Only way to their position is across open ground. Unless you want to go the long way around and get to the other passage."

"We don't have time." Rex looked up at the balcony. "Saresh is there. So are Dooku and Ventress. I don't see General Fisto."

"Jedi Kenobi!" shouted Saresh.

Rex glanced over at Anakin again.

"I'm right here," General Kenobi answered, looking up with a pleasant smile.

Rex turned to Scorch. "You got any breach charges with you?"

"Right here."

"Give it to me."

Saresh was speaking again. "You will combat the anakkona! To win, you must kill it."

"Get this door open," said Rex, over the excited screaming that followed the Twi'lek's announcement.

Fixer stepped forward and slashed his vibroblade through the bolt.

"Okay, that's one way to do it," Jesse commented.

The door swung outward, and Rex leaned out, hoping that the slight overhang of stone would be enough to shield him from the citizens' eyes. Fortunately, they all seemed to be focused on the monstrous snake that was gliding over the sand, straight towards General Kenobi.

Rex waited.

Across from him, Echo's eyes widened, and he leaned forward to whisper to the general, who looked up. Rex lifted the breach charge.

Anakin nodded and raised both hands, and Rex threw the charge with all his strength. At the same instant, the snake lashed forward and Obi-Wan rolled aside. A spray of sand hid the charge from sight for a minute, but as Rex ducked back, he saw that Anakin had it in a Force-grip.

A second later, it was in his hand.

"Nice job," muttered Sev. "Sir, you want me to take out the monster?"

"No," Boss said before Rex could speak. "We can't let anyone know we're here."

Flash set the charge against the sealed door. The snake lunged again, its jaws snapping shut over sand as Obi-Wan somersaulted away.

"Anyone see General Fisto yet?" asked Boss.

"That's a negative, squad leader," replied Fixer, who had taken a position against the door. "Ventress is – Wait. Someone else is coming in. Sir, it's Commander Cody!"

"What?" Rex peered up, but could only see Ventress and Saresh. Dooku, having moved away from the edge, was out of sight.

General Kenobi jumped high in the air, coming down behind the snake, which drew in on itself in a defensive coil as its head swerved, following the Jedi Master. Rex looked across at the second guardroom in time to see Fives jump back. Another wave of cheering rocked the arena, and the breach charge went off unnoticed.

"They're clear," reported Scorch. "Orders, sir?"

"General Skywalker's not leaving," Boss said mildly.

"He never does." Rex switched his com frequency. "Advisor, four clones just left the western guardroom."

"They'll have to go all the way around to get to your position. I'll try to find a way to contact them."

The crowd was getting louder and angrier each time General Kenobi evaded one of the anakkona's strikes. Rex looked out again and nearly jumped as Anakin skidded to a clumsy halt just outside the door. "Hey, Rex, what took you so long?"

"We had to wait for backup," replied Rex, gesturing at the commandos. "That snake's getting closer, sir."

Anakin looked over his shoulder. "Nah, he's chasing Obi-Wan. You guys have an escape plan for us?"

"General Fisto's causing a distraction," said Boss.

"And then?"

"No idea, sir." Rex watched as the snake slammed its tail into the ground, sending a sheet of sand at General Kenobi, who went sprawling. "You . . . might want to turn around."

Anakin rubbed at his forehead with a sigh of exasperation, as though he had all the time in the world. The snake reared above him, jaws agape.

"Harpoon it," ordered Boss.

Sev elbowed past Rex, and Scorch moved up beside him.

Before Rex could ask what they thought they were doing, the anakkona lunged. The general spun on one heel and flung both hands forward. The snake came to an abrupt halt, its lower teeth inches from the Jedi's hands.

At the same moment, Sev fired his cable. Scorch slashed it almost as soon as it left his gun, and the metal hook embedded itself in the back of the snake's throat.

The anakkona reared back, hissing and lashing its tail. Sand flew in all directions, and Anakin and Obi-Wan ran to either side, intent on keeping it contained with the Force.

Sev readied his sniper rifle, but Boss stopped him. "Wait for the general's order."

"Captain," said Advisor. "I've got your men on cameras. Snap, Waxer and Boil are on their way to meet them."

"Good." Rex drew one pistol keeping it focused on the snake's head. "What about General Fisto?"

His comlink clicked, and the general in question spoke. "I'm in position. There are too many guards – I will be unable to reach Dooku or Ventress without catching everyone's attention."

Rex looked up at the balcony, where both Sith were once again in sight, then over at the commandos.

Boss nodded. "General, Delta Squad is making its way to your position. We'll provide backup and support as necessary."

"That would be appreciated." General Fisto laughed wryly. "Three Jedi, and our hands are tied."

"By the citizens," said Advisor, sounding as though he were merely noting the weather. "If they see any of us, the resulting riot would kill a lot of people – and probably us, as well."  
"It would be simpler if they were droids," muttered Sev, his voice coming through the coms as he left the room.

"Yeah," Scorch added. "We could use the ships to take out one side of the building."

"Unfortunately, they are not droids." General Fisto's voice was firm. "We must find another way. Taking Dooku or Ventress as a hostage is our best option."

No one had an answer to that.

Rex waited at the doorway, his gaze fixed on the two Jedi, who still held the anakkona at bay. It kept shaking its head as though trying to dislodge the thing in its throat, and its scales were turning a deeper blue. Rex didn't know a lot about anakkonas, but he'd be willing to bet that the color change meant it was getting mad.

Jesse drew closer to the door. "Can't we do something?"

"The generals know we're here," Rex told him. "When they're ready, they'll escape this way. We have to be ready to cover them."

Kix tossed Namer his rifle. "You're a better shot."

That wasn't strictly true, but Rex let it slide. Kix was a medic, first, second, and last, and Namer was far more experienced a trooper.

* * *

Cody stood at the back of the balcony, his right arm held in a firm grip by the big guard. He couldn't see much of the arena from his position, but he'd seen and heard enough over the past couple of minutes to know that the Jedi were in trouble. He'd used the guard's distraction to secure his weapon, slipping it halfway into the belt he wore and keeping his forearm pressed over it.

He kept his gaze straight ahead, looking between Ventress and Dooku. He knew now that he'd never be able to take either of them hostage. There were three guards besides his own, as well as Saresh and the two Sith. Faced with insurmountable odds, Cody switched tactics. If he wasn't able to use the knife, he'd get it to someone who could.

Now, he just had to figure out how to get the knife over the balcony's edge without being seen by anyone except Obi-Wan.

People all around the balcony were on their feet, screaming and cursing the anakkona for failing to kill either of the Jedi. The crowd was getting dangerously angry, and Cody couldn't exactly blame them. They'd been promised a bloody execution, and yet no one had died. That was Saresh's problem, although it could very quickly become Cody's problem as well.

Sure enough, Saresh gestured, and the guard shoved Cody forward, right up to the balcony's railing.

"Jedi Kenobi!" shouted Saresh.

Cody felt the eyes of the entire arena turn to him, and he remained slightly hunched, almost entirely focused on keeping the knife hidden. The arena, ten meters below, was filled with a haze of drifting sand.

The Jedi were holding their hands out, keeping the huge form of the snake between them, but General Skywalker seemed ready to collapse, and now General Kenobi was staring up at the balcony.

"Kenobi is powerful," intoned Dooku, his voice echoing through the room. "But even he cannot fully keep his focus on two things at once."

Cody jerked back. The guard grabbed his elbows, lifted him bodily, and threw him over the railing.

* * *

**CLIFF HANGER! HAHAHAHAHA!**

**Wow, evil laughter and it's not even Friday yet. However, I have good news for you. Although I am still balancing multiple plot lines, all the characters are now in basically the same place, so updates will be faster. I anticipate one on Saturday and maybe even one on Sunday. :)**


	34. Chapter 34

**Just for reference . . . though I'm not absolutely sure myself . . . I _think _'anakkona' is pronounced, not like 'anaconda', but with the stress on the second syllable: a-NAK-uh-na. But then, I could be wrong, so pronounce it however you want, I guess. :P**

* * *

"Jedi Kenobi!"

Anakin blinked sweat from his eyes, his vision greying as he Force-pushed the snake's head away for what felt like the thousandth time. Across from him, Obi-Wan held a similar position, though he was much more alert.

The anakkona, confused and angry, coiled up again, weaving its head from side to side. Its tongue slithered in and out as it gave a rattling hiss.

Anakin spared a glance up at the balcony, squinting against the floating sand. Cody stood beside Dooku, his grey uniform spotted with charred marks and streaks, and his expression calculating.

"Kenobi is powerful." Dooku leaned forward slightly, and Anakin glanced over at Obi-Wan, who seemed as surprised at the admission as Anakin felt. "But even he cannot fully keep his focus on two things at once."

_What . . . _Anakin looked back in time to see the armored guard heave Cody over the railing. Cody twisted in mid-air and tossed a knife towards Anakin.

Obi-Wan reached out a hand, slowing his commander's fall only an instant before he hit the ground. The anakkona, free from its invisible restraints, shook off Anakin's influence and lashed out at Obi-Wan, hitting him in the side with its head.

Obi-Wan hit the wall with a dull _thud _and fell limply to the ground behind Cody. The anakkona's yellow eyes widened in triumph as it slithered toward the Jedi with a dry rattle of scales.

Cody was too busy coughing up a lungful of sand to notice, and Anakin could hardly stand erect. He stumbled toward the knife, the ringing in his ears nearly drowning out the crowd. _Master Fisto, now would be a really good time to step in!_

* * *

When the snake hit General Kenobi, Rex hit his com. "Advisor, we need a distraction, stat!"

"Hold your rations, Captain," replied Advisor. "Anakkonas are sensitive to high sounds. It's almost ready."

Jesse glared down at his comlink as though it could transfer his impatience to the other clone. "Well, the generals are ALMOST going to get eaten!"

Rex shot him a quelling look through his helmet before aiming both pistols at the anakkona's head. "Five seconds, then I'm shooting it."

"Wait, Captain!" General Fisto cut in. "We're ready to move in!"

Anakin, moving drunkenly, stooped to pick something up. Cody dragged Obi-Wan to his feet. The anakkona reared up over Anakin, its fanged jaws gaping open, and Cody shouted, "General!" just as Advisor said, "Got it!"

A sudden burst of shrieking feedback from the speaker system blasted through the arena. Rex winced reflexively. Anakin, Cody, and Obi-Wan staggered, covering their ears. The anakkona reeled, coiling in on itself and letting out a harsh croak of fury and discomfort. The feedback grew in intensity, drowning out everything else. The snake lashed out, slamming its head repeatedly against the wall and churning the sand.

General Skywalker braced himself and yelled something to Obi-Wan, who lifted his hands just as Anakin jumped. The sound cut off, and a ringing silence fell. Anakin soared into the air, kicked off the wall, and clenched the knife in both hands, slamming it straight into the anakkona's left eye. He dangled there for a moment, then fell, crumpling as he landed.

"General Skywalker's had it," Kix said, sounding almost threatening. "We've got to get in there."

"No!" General Fisto's voice was sharp. "You _must_ wait."

"Yes, sir." Namer answered for Rex, who was still focused on the arena.

"I hate this mission," Jesse announced to the world at large.

Obi-Wan and Cody hauled Anakin away from the anakkona's thrashing body, taking what shelter they could against the wall. Rex waited, adrenaline jumping through his system, and agreed whole-heartedly with Jesse. Not only had this mission had been a disaster from its beginning, he and his men had been forced to stay on the sidelines a lot of the time. And he wasn't so sure there'd be an end that _didn't _involve dying.

* * *

Scorch crept up to the edge of the corridor, glanced out, and ducked back. "Balcony entrance is closed. Two guards."

Kit Fisto clipped his lightsaber to his belt. "Do not kill them unless you have to."

Boss had noticed that the Jedi were careful about preserving the lives of their enemies – careful almost to the point of foolishness. It wasn't as though the civilians in the arena were _innocent _the way most civilians were. They all wanted the Jedi and clones dead, or they wouldn't be in the arena in the first place. Thirty-Eight had no particular wish to harm them – but General Fisto was risking those he was attempting to rescue on the off chance that the civilians might riot and trample each other.

He hit the door's release, stepping back out of sight as he did so, and the Jedi sprang forward, using the Force to pull two surprised guards toward him. Scorch and Sev stepped out of cover to knock them unconscious before dumping them to one side.

Boss took their guns and checked carefully for hidden weapons. Unconscious enemies would eventually revive. Injured enemies could still function. Leaving an enemy alive meant you risked getting shot in the back later.

The Republic soldiers weren't monsters. Time and time again, Boss had ordered opponents left alive when he could be sure they wouldn't be a threat. Even with his experience, though, he'd miscalculated on several occasions. Last time, his error had nearly cost Scorch his life and the Republic, the mission.

Boss slung his rifle over his shoulder and drew his pistol. He supposed it was just as well that most of the time, the commandos didn't have to worry about making the choice. Those that tried to kill them usually ended up dead before they were ever in a position to be spared. "Are we taking the balcony, General?"

"Yes." General Fisto paused just outside the door. "Once I get Dooku to follow me."

He bowed his head and waited for a long moment before looking at the squad with a pleased smirk. "I'll keep Dooku busy, but don't take too long."

Boss signaled and the commandos drew back, ducking into the small side corridor that led to the western guardroom.

Kit Fisto passed them, standing a little further down the main hall. "Count!" he called, sounding pleased. "I have been waiting for some time for you to recognize my presence."

"Kit Fisto." The Count's voice was deep and cultured. "You must forgive my failure. I have been attending to important matters. . . Now, though, I would be happy to oblige your wish for an early death."

General Fisto laughed. "How convenient. I was about to offer you the same."

Fixer looked questioningly over at Boss, who shrugged. For all he knew, Jedi and Sith had some sort of long-standing tradition that involved taunting each other before battle.

A reddish glow lit the right side of the hall as the count activated his lightsaber and spun it. "Grievous failed to kill you, but I assure you I will not."

Kit Fisto's lightsaber set a green glow against the red. "It is not the Jedi way to make promises you cannot keep, Dooku."

Thirty-Eight might not know much about the Jedi and their teachings, but he was almost certain that General Fisto had just made that last remark up.

Count Dooku's icy silence seemed to confirm his suspicions. The Sith ran past the tunnel entrance, his cloak swinging out behind him, and the rapid buzzing and clashing of the duelers' sabers filled the hall.

Scorch shifted, impatient to move, and Boss held up his left hand. "Wait . . ."

He locked his helmet's range-finder on General Fisto's comlink signal as the sound of the battle drew farther away. When it reached twenty meters, he gestured. "Okay, squad, let's get in there and start breaking things."

They exited the corridor in single file and ran for the balcony entrance. Boss leveled his pistol in his right hand and smashed the panel with his vibroblade, forcing the door to spring open and lock in position.

Immediately, he ducked back. There was a short conversation in Twi'leki, and then the sound of approaching footsteps. Boss reached out, grabbed the surprised human by the collar, and hauled him out of sight of the balcony. Sev clubbed him over the head with his pistol, and Boss dropped him.

"Scorch. Lead them on."

"My pleasure, sir!" Scorch stood in the entrance until a shout told him he'd been seen, then turned and ran for the second corridor.

Three guards ran past, skidding as they realized there were three armored commandos waiting for them. It was already too late for them. Boss kept an eye on the balcony entrance. Sev and Scorch used stun shots on their targets, and Fixer hit the last man in the chin, snapping his head back into the wall.

"Ow," Scorch said, throwing his opponent's weapon down the hall. "Fixer, you've gotta start pulling your punches."

Advisor spoke. "Delta Lead, I've got a visual on Ventress. Looks like she's receiving a transmission."

"Good," said Sev. "Let's get her while she's distracted."

"Hold it, Oh-Seven," Boss said. "Advisor?"

"She – just jumped off the balcony."

Boss ran through the door. An armored man lunged at him, a knife in each hand, and he turned slightly, allowing one blade to glance off his left shoulder-piece as he caught the man's right wrist in an armlock and threw him. Scorch walked past, putting a couple stun rounds in him.

When Boss looked up again, Tar Saresh was watching him, a faint smile on his orange face as he leaned against the balcony's railing, his hand clasped around his right wrist. "You win, commandos," he said. "And . . . you lose."

There was a faint _beep. _A thrill of alarm rushed through Boss, who turned to warn his squad back just as a burst of rapid explosions rocked the balcony. Boss lost his footing and fell sideways.

"He's taking out the supports!" yelled Scorch, grabbing Boss' arm. "Fixer –!"

The entire structure collapsed.

* * *

Obi-Wan and Cody ran, half-carrying Anakin as the anakkona screamed and thrashed behind them, its death-cries piercing the air.

They were nearly at the guard room when a shadow of imminent danger rose in Obi-Wan's mind, and he shoved Anakin at Cody, shouting, "Run!"

For some reason, the transfer of weight knocked Cody off-balance, but Obi-Wan couldn't help. He was too focused on keeping the collapsing anakkona from crushing all three of them.

Cody glanced over his shoulder, past Obi-Wan. An alarmed expression crossed his face, and he turned back. "Rex!"

Rex was already there. He and Jesse grabbed Anakin, dragging him to the guard room. Someone clutched at Obi-Wan's shoulders, pulling him away, and his Force-grip loosened. The anakkona's head, its tongue flicking sluggishly, hovered inches above Obi-Wan's. He gritted his teeth. "Get out of here!" He could only hold his stance a moment more, and then –

Someone sighed in exasperation, and two people caught his arms and jerked him into the guardroom. The anakkona's head thudded harmlessly into the sand as Obi-Wan fell to his knees. Breathing heavily, he glanced to either side. On his right, Namer watched him with concern; on his left, Cody gave him a judgmental look, complete with the slightly lifted eyebrow that meant he had absolutely had it with _everything_.

To be fair, it had been a long day.

"Hello, Cody," said Obi-Wan with a friendly smile. "Fancy seeing you here."

Cody stared at him in what appeared to be utter disbelief and turned to Rex as though appealing to him for help.

Rex dumped Anakin on Jesse and Kix. "Get him to the ship, fast." He lifted his comlink. "General, we've got them."

"I'm right here, Captain," Obi-Wan said, getting up.

"No, sir, he means General Fisto," explained Namer. He removed his comlink from his vambrace and handed it to Obi-Wan, who nodded his thanks.

"Captain, Ventress just jumped off the balcony," reported a clone's voice. "She's headed your way."

Rex spoke. "Snap, we're bringing the generals back."

Obi-Wan looked at the anakkona's blue-green head. Its tongue flickered sluggishly one last time as it died. And then, for what felt like the hundredth time that day, Obi-Wan and the clones started running.

"Permission to speak freely, sir," Boil drawled through the com.

"Granted." Obi-Wan replied without thinking just as Cody snapped, "Denied."

After a moment of silence, Boil followed protocol and obeyed the higher authority. "If we never come here again, it'll be too soon for me."

Obi-Wan agreed, in his mind, and immediately had second thoughts about it. As a Jedi, he should not have felt the deep dislike of Rattatak that he currently felt. Perhaps a long session of meditation would be in order, if ever he got back to the _Negotiator. _

Cody had no such concerns. "Boil! Stow the chatter and get in position. We've got Ventress and several men after us."

Rex promptly fell back to guard position. "We've got to move faster!"

Obi-Wan called on the Force again – he was exhausted, his lightsaber was gone, and Anakin had used his last reserves to kill the anakkona. If Kit didn't get here soon, _none_ of them would be getting out of here alive.

* * *

**This time, I honestly didn't intend to end on a cliff-hanger. It just happened because it's already 10:30 at night and I promised to post today . . . and the chapter was getting longer. :) Hope you enjoy it anyway!**


	35. Chapter 35

**I'm - let's see - twelve minutes late with this. But in my defense, this chapter is nearly a thousand words longer than usual. :)**

**In preparation for writing the first scene, I went back and watched the scene from Attack of the Clones where Dooku duels Yoda. The only way I could think of to describe Dooku's fighting style was 'smooth and sophisticated', or perhaps 'elegant'. He doesn't waste a motion.**

* * *

Dooku advanced, and Kit Fisto gave way before him. Where Grievous lashed out with blinding speed, Dooku was far more deliberate, his flowing style and the curved hilt of his saber allowing him to change directions with ease, one blow transitioning smoothly into the next. Back when he was still a Jedi, Dooku had been accounted the best duelist in the Order, apart from Yoda.

Now, Kit Fisto held that position, but Dooku had not become less capable after leaving the Order – quite the opposite. Kit jumped back, whirled around, and began a quick series of blows that put Dooku on the defensive.

Kit hadn't heard from Delta Squad since Scorch's alarmed yell, but if Ventress had gone after Obi-Wan, the commandos had a fair chance of extricating themselves. At least, he hoped they did. As a Nautolan, Kit could sense emotions without having to use the Force. Although this ability was limited when he was above water, there was no mistaking the crackling anger and hatred that emanated from the citizens inside the Cauldron.

He brought his left wrist up, keeping his attention on Dooku. "Advisor, get everyone together. We must leave!"

"Yes, General." The tactical coordinator sounded stressed.

Dooku spun his lightsaber in a dizzying series of arcs, up, down, up, across – Kit Fisto blocked the sudden blow half a second before it could cut into his arm. Dooku leaned his weight forward. Kit took a step back, twisting his own blade around Dooku's until the edge was dangerously near the Sith's right side. Dooku still carried Anakin's lightsaber.

As if acting on a signal, they sprang apart, circled, then lunged at each other. Kit brought his blade up in a quick parry, struck twice, and then stepped back to block an overhanded blow. Pivoting beneath their crossed blades, Kit reached out and summoned Anakin's lightsaber to his left hand, leaping back to avoid Dooku's humming red blade as it slashed at his neck.

"Surrender, Count," he demanded, igniting Anakin's saber.

Dooku looked down his nose and replied in a miffed voice. "You Jedi always demand surrender. You lack the resolve to finish what you started."

"Perhaps." Kit Fisto circled, keeping both lightsabers sabers held out. "And perhaps I am not eager to kill, the way the Sith are."

"At least we are not hypocrites." Dooku took a running step and leaped into the air, flipping over Kit's head and coming down behind him.

Kit Fisto swung to face him, his com blinking as Rex spoke. "General Fisto! We could really use your help, sir!"

"On my way, Captain." Only after he replied did he bother to wonder what kind of trouble they were in this time.

He cast one final glance at Dooku, and the Sith lord smiled, well aware that he was blocking the Jedi's escape route. "Leaving so soon, Master Fisto? You disappoint me."

* * *

Captain Rex rushed through the control room, just behind General Kenobi and Namer. In front of them, Anakin had recovered consciousness – Rex knew because he was mumbling protests against Kix and Jesse's hold on him.

Cody, who had been maintaining his pace for several minutes, fell back to Rex's position. His uniform was covered in scorch marks. Rex tilted his head. "Let me guess, you didn't talk nicely to the Count."

Cody laughed, then broke off with a pained grimace.

Obi-Wan slowed and turned, speaking over his shoulder. "I'm afraid that Ventress is gaining on us."

Cody looked across at Rex, who drew his second pistol and handed it to him.

"Captain?" Namer – as always – was aware of what was happening before Rex said anything.

"Namer, Kix, Jesse," said Rex. "Your job is to protect the generals."

"If you're staying, I'm staying," said Obi-Wan, in that pleasant tone of voice that meant he was ready to go through hell and high water to get his way.

Anakin said something unintelligible, and Kix jostled him. "Quiet, general. We're getting you to the shuttle."

They disappeared around the corner. General Kenobi was in a staring match with Cody, but Rex didn't have time to argue. Ventress was getting close, and Obi-Wan didn't have a lightsaber. Rex wasn't sure what he intended to do, actually, but for the moment, he lifted his com. "General Fisto! We could really use your help, sir!"

The answer came immediately. "On my way, Captain."

Namer was holding position beside General Kenobi, apparently unconcerned by his disagreeing superiors. Of course, after having been privy to some of Anakin and Ahsoka's louder arguments, a little dispute between a marshal commander and a high general probably wasn't that big of a deal.

After a few more seconds of interminable silence, Cody spoke coolly. "You're unarmed, general. Stay behind us."

Obi-Wan looked politely appalled, but before he could open his mouth to reply, Rex had turned away, Cody beside him. Even General Kenobi's famed skills for diplomacy were worthless when the opposing party refused to negotiate.

"You take high, I'll take low," Cody ordered.

"Just like in ARC training." Rex stood to one side of the door while Cody knelt at the other. Two directions of attack at two different heights. They'd never kill Ventress, but maybe they could keep her busy long enough for General Fisto to get here.

* * *

Delta Thirty-Eight was vaguely aware of a feeling of weightlessness, which then turned into a crushing weight. His head was tilted awkwardly to one side, and he couldn't move or see. He could only hear – a roaring sound which reminded him of the crashing ocean waves of Kamino.

Eventually, he recognized the sound as bursts of static, and his mind made the connection that his helmet's audio processors were being overwhelmed. He moved automatically, trying to reach his helmet to shut off the sound, but he couldn't. He then tested his other arm, then each leg, then his head – unsuccessful.

For an awful instant, as he remembered falling, and the thought that he'd been paralyzed entered his mind. His fingers clenched reflexively before his mind caught up with his imagination. He'd been on the balcony, which meant he was probably buried beneath part of it right now . . . Then he realized that he was not lying on his face as he'd originally thought, but half on his right side.

He took a slow breath. "Deltas, report! Can any of you hear me?"

"Right here, Thirty-Eight!" Scorch answered. "We're kind of in trouble."

Fixer cut in, his voice uncharacteristically taut. "He's got half the balcony on him. He _knows _we're in trouble."

Boss ignored their bickering. "Where's Sev?"

The sniper's low voice answered. "Right next to you, sir."

"What's your status?"

"Also trapped, but I can see the arena. Looks like the Jedi got out – I don't see them anywhere. We've got a few unfriendlies headed our way, but the citizens seem to be staying put. For now."

Boss considered. "Fixer, Scorch, can you get us out?"

"Working as fast as we can," replied Fixer. "Oh-Seven's almost clear."

"Yeah." Scorch spoke breathlessly. "Stupid balcony – got it!"

Boss tensed as weight shifted from his legs to his chest, but his armor held up under the pressure. "Anyone see Saresh?"

"I'm looking at him right now," replied Sev. "He's with the guys coming toward us."

"What?" Thirty-Eight twisted slightly, trying to free his left hand, and something dug painfully into his lower back. "HOW does that Twi'lek keep surviving?"

"Wish I could tell you, sir," said Sev, also sounding irked.

"Delta Lead, are you there?" demanded Advisor's voice, cutting sharply through the static. "Come in, Thirty-Eight!"

"Right here, Advisor." Boss wished Advisor would lower his voice – he currently had the worst headache he'd had since the time Delta Squad had crashed their escape pod on Bakura. "We're alive."

"Not for long, if we don't get out of here," Scorch sing-songed.

"I'm out, sir," reported Sev, and the weight shifted again, tilting to the right. "Just give me a second – Fixer! Look out behind you!"

"Get Three-Eight out!" yelled Fixer. Rapid blasterfire sounded, and Boss jerked reflexively, reaching for his own weapon. His pistol was gone, but, now that he thought about it, that pressure at his waist probably meant he was lying on top of his rifle.

"Okay, this is a problem," Scorch said in exasperation, which did nothing to inform Thirty-Eight of the situation. "Sev! Get clear!"

When Sev obeyed without a word, Boss' internal sense of danger ratcheted up another fifteen notches or so. "Six-Two, what are you doing?"

"Getting you out, sir. We're out of time. . . Setting breach charge."

_Oh, he is NOT. _

Fixer and Advisor both shouted, "Six-Two, no!"

Boss decided that simultaneously having his fears confirmed and his headache intensified was not something he appreciated.

Then an explosion rattled through the pile, and the weight on his legs increased, but it was suddenly easier to breathe.

"We've got you, sir!" Scorch called.

The weight vanished from his head and shoulders, and Boss blinked against the sudden surge of light. Sev and Scorch grabbed his arms, and a moment later, he was kneeling in the sand, one hand braced against the ground as the arena tilted dizzyingly.

After a few seconds, he stumbled to his feet. His right arm hung uselessly, whether from cut circulation or some more serious injury, he wasn't sure. He drew his rifle with his left hand, balancing it clumsily in the crook of his arm.

"Here." Scorch took the rifle and shoved his own pistol at Boss.

Thirty-Eight glanced beyond him to the guard room. The anakkona's corpse lay across half the arena, its scaled body coiled in loops with its head near the eastern guard room door. Eight armed men approached. Fixer was firing his weapon in short, staccato bursts, which meant he was nearly out of ammo. "Sev, Scorch, clear a path. We're getting out of here."

"Yes, sir!" Scorch turned to obey. Sev was already on one knee, firing with his trademark, calculating precision.

Taking a final, steadying breath, Boss spun on his heel, bringing his gun up and firing as he ended his turn. The guard's armor, primitive as it looked, blocked lasers well enough. He adjusted his aim, shooting the man through the forehead.

Fixer's gun clicked, and he tossed it aside, flicking his vibroblade free of his gauntlet. As Fixer closed with the nearest man, Boss joined him at a run, firing over his shoulder to take down the oncoming enemies.

The last guard went down with a knife to the throat just as Thirty-Eight's pistol lost its charge. Screams and cheers rang out all around them, and Boss spun again, standing beside Fixer as a huge Zabrak lunged toward them, followed by Tar Saresh.

"That's Viscus Gaan," Advisor warned in an off-hand manner, sounding as though he were merely commenting on their situation in between ordering around other teams.

Come to think of it, he probably was.

Delta Thirty-Eight fired twice, then holstered his pistol, which was recharging too slowly. He dropped into a wrestling stance and faced the Zabrak head-on. If Boss had been uninjured, he might have had a small chance, but now. . . As a race, Zabraks had better stamina and greater strength than humans. And Gaan had been trained to kill – it showed in the way he approached, in the way he eyed his prey with a vicious pleasure.

Boss might not have a chance, but he intended to take Gaan down with him.

At the last instant, Fixer lunged in front of him, slamming into Gaan from the side and knocking him slightly off-balance. Boss started to follow, but a flicker of orange caught his peripheral vision, and he swung back around in time to see Saresh lashing out at Fixer with a long vibroblade.

Thirty-Eight brought his hand down across the Twi'lek's arm and pivoted on his heel, jamming his left elbow against Saresh's right and immobilizing his weapon arm.

Saresh reached over to his right wrist – too late, Boss remembered the small control panel the Twi'lek had on his vambrace. He didn't dare release Saresh's weapon hand, and his own right arm was still useless. Gritting his teeth against the pulsing electricity that seared through his shields and shorted his helmet's sensors, he forced the Twi'lek to the ground, knelt on his forearm, and slashed his own blade through the control panel.

The electric current left him gasping, but he twisted Saresh's wrist hard, forcing him to drop the vibroblade. Before he could get it, the Twi'lek grabbed it with his free hand and slashed it across the inside of Boss' forearm.

Delta Thirty-Eight jerked, nearly falling across Saresh's back. Recovering, he the grabbed the back of Saresh's head and slammed his knee into the Twi'lek's face, breaking his nose. He snatched at the vibroblade again, wrenching it from Saresh's weakened grip, just as a shot flashed by his head.

Boss staggered upright, backed away from the dazed Twi'lek, and turned, flinging the vibroblade at the new threat. The Weequay guard got off one more shot before the blade buried itself in his leg. He toppled over with a scream.

_Count yourself lucky, _Boss thought dispassionately. _I was aiming for your heart. _

A snarl behind him caught his attention, and he ducked and drew his pistol, wincing at the searing pain in his good arm. Viscus Gaan and Fixer were locked in hand-to-hand combat, neither giving an inch. Gaan was favoring his left leg – it looked like the knee had been dislocated – while Fixer stood facing him at a slight angle, hunched over some injury to his side or ribs. Some distance behind them, Sev and Scorch kept their eyes and weapons focused on the crowd. The path to the guard room was clear.

_We have to get out, now._

"Fixer!" Boss called, aiming over the other commando's shoulder. His hand wavered alarmingly, and he tried to steady it. "I need a clear shot!"

Gaan glanced over at him, frightening intelligence in his yellow eyes, and then behind him to Saresh. Boss didn't flinch. He'd have to gamble that the Twi'lek didn't have a second blade – and that Gaan wouldn't know when Fixer was about to move.

Fixer shifted his weight, and Boss tightened his finger on the trigger just as Fixer leaped to the side.

Gaan anticipated him. Boss' shot grazed the Zabrak's shoulder, and Gaan landed a flying kick against Fixer's side before the commando could recover his balance. Boss took aim again, moving in closer as Fixer staggered back, barely managing to block Gaan's more dangerous blows.

Someone moved behind Boss, and he twisted, shooting Saresh almost before he'd registered the threat. The Twi'lek stiffened, folded over himself, and crumpled in the sand, his weapon falling from his hand.

_Hm, he did have a second vibroblade. _Boss kicked it out of range, just in case Saresh was still alive.

"Boss, we've gotta evac!" yelled Scorch, sounding almost panicked.

"Crowd's getting dangerous, sir," said Sev.

Boss' hand was spasming painfully now, and he dropped his pistol as he turned back to the second fight. Gaan kicked Fixer in the chest, knocking him flat, and leaped onto him, his huge hands closing around the struggling commando's throat.

Thirty-Eight charged at Gaan, keeping his left arm loose. "Sev! Give me some sniping, commando!"

"Got you covered, sir."

Boss slammed into Gaan, and the two of them went tumbling across the sand. Boss dragged himself to his knees, and Gaan punched him in the head, cracking the visor of his helmet.

Boss' vision split and throbbed, and he coughed as blood ran into his throat.

A single shot rang out.

The Zabrak stared straight at Boss, his expression almost confused. Then he blinked, stepped forward, and collapsed.

Thirty-Eight dropped to his hands and knees for an instant, then struggled upright once more. Scorch was next to him the next second, all but dragging him forward to where Sev prowled in front of the guard room entrance. Fixer, coughing and gagging reflexively every few seconds, joined them last.

They entered the corridor at a half-run, and Scorch stopped to plant the last of his explosives. The door to the guard room collapsed in on itself with a rumbling of stone and dust, and Boss blinked at the wreckage through blurred vision.

"Good work, Deltas," he said automatically.

Fixer choked again.

Sev reloaded his rifle and moved forward to take point.

Scorch glanced between Boss and Fixer, sighed loudly, hooked his weapon to his belt, and folded his arms. "Boss. Thirty-Eight? Hey, Boss, are you there? Do you _want _to stand around until we get killed?"

Boss took a slow breath, glanced at the long corridor ahead, and was about to take a step forward when Scorch continued.

"Fixer? Come on, don't tell me you're going to let a little lack of oxygen get you. You always say –"

"_Can_ _it_, Six-Two," Fixer managed.

Scorch's grin was audible in his voice. "Yeah, exactly."

Boss wondered when Scorch had decided that annoying his commanding officers into action was a good idea. Feeling a bit steadier, he elbowed Scorch as he walked past him. "Let's get out of here, Deltas."

* * *

**Wow! That was intense to write. I hope that the arena fight scene was as exciting for you to read! ;D I had to test out a few of the moves that Boss and Saresh used in their one-on-one fight, but I'm ninety-nine percent sure they're accurate.**

**Ninety-nine. Heh. :D**

**Let me know if anything struck you as unrealistic, though, and I'll definitely fix it. ;) Thanks!**


	36. Chapter 36

**Hello, everyone! :)**

**I'm sorry it's been so long . . . but I hope that, in this case, you will forgive me. I've started work on two more fan fiction stories (both Star Wars, never fear!), partly because I FINALLY watched the Bad Batch arc and the final four episodes of Season 7. Yes, I know, I'm rather behind the times . . . But that _ending! _:O**

**Ouch, ouch, _ouch. _:( **

**So - anyway, you know that 'untitled' story I talk about on my profile? Yeah. I started getting a whole bunch of ideas for that. But I'll finish this story first, I promise! :)**

* * *

Rex stood at one side of the door while Cody knelt at the other. General Kenobi and Namer had positioned themselves a few meters back. The four of them had been waiting in tense silence for nearly a minute now. Rex cautiously leaned out of cover and checked the hallway again.

Still empty. He was sure Ventress hadn't been _that_ far behind them.

Advisor's voice came through the coms again. _"General Kenobi, we're holding the shuttle here. Recommend we move most of the men to the _Twilight _in case of another attack_."

"I agree," replied Obi-Wan. "Transfer the injured first."

_"Roger that, General. Kix and Jesse are already on it."_

"Where's Anakin?"

_"He's waiting for you and the others."_

Rex could almost hear General Kenobi wondering if he should order Anakin to board the ship. Apparently, he decided it was a waste of time, because all he said was, "I see. Carry on."

Silence fell again.

Rex glanced at a worriedly frowning Cody, then back at the hallway. It didn't take an experienced trooper to know that something was wrong, and both Rex and Cody were highly experienced troopers, each of whom had dealt with Ventress more than once.

The first Rex had heard of Ventress was when Cody showed up to a briefing with twenty-five stitches in his face. Apparently she'd thrown him into a wall, crushing one side of his helmet into his face. The situation wasn't funny, but Cody and General Kenobi had been so disgruntled by her escape and their defeat that Rex and Anakin hadn't been able to resist the occasional smirk or snide comment.

Cody shifted. "This feels like Tibrin," he said, for the second time that day.

"Yeah. . ."

Tibrin had been a disaster. Ventress had worked with the Ishi Tib generals to stage a trap for the Republic. When General Luminara landed, she received only token resistance for the first several hours. As she and her troopers neared the capital, the enemy had launched a massive attack from the shallow seas that surrounded them. By the time Commander Gree had gotten a signal through for reinforcements, the 41st had been decimated.

The 501st and 212th had rushed to cover Luminara's retreat, and then pushed toward the capital. Several days of sustained fighting later, the troops received an order from Chancellor Palpatine, commanding the Republic to withdraw. This meant that no new forces were moved in, even to provide cover, so the troopers already there received no support.

Pulling back to the exfiltration point took hours, and the attacks only worsened as they retreated. Ventress hounded them the entire way, engaging one or the other of the Jedi, springing sudden attacks on separate squads, and killing scouts.

Rex let out a slow breath_. That was a nightmare. We never knew where she'd show up next . . . just like now. _He leaned out of cover to carefully observe the hallway, but once again, there was nothing.

Across the doorway, Cody was watching him. Rex shook his head, and Cody switched the pistol to his left hand. "General? How close is she?"

There was a moment of silence before Obi-Wan answered distantly. "I – can't tell."

Rex grimaced. That was never a good thing. _All due respect, General Fisto, but hurry it up._

* * *

Kit Fisto sprinted to the end of the hallway and leaped into the air, twisting sharply to face a side corridor as he slashed twice at the ceiling supports. He landed, ran forward a few paces, spun again, and reached out. Calling on the Force, he dragged the supports sideways, tilting them inward.

The heavy stones crashed to the ground, piling halfway up the corridor. A cloud of dust blocked Dooku from view, though the red glow of his lightsaber was still visible, drawing closer.

Kit cloaked himself in the Force and rushed down the hall again. He knew that the commandos were alive, but he couldn't take the time to locate them, not with Dooku following him and Ventress closing in on Obi-Wan and the others.

He paused to take out a couple more supports, then threw his lightsaber, guiding its path so that it cut through the heavy wooden door just ahead. Deactivating his weapon, he lifted the door, flinging it against the newest blockade of stone.

It wouldn't stop Dooku, but it would definitely slow him. Kit Fisto ran through the control room and into the maze of hallways beyond. "Sergeant, come in," he ordered.

There was no response.

"Advisor, are you there?"

_"General Fisto, what's your location?" _replied Advisor. _"The squad is on its way back to the shuttle."_

"Excellent." Kit ducked into the next corridor, checked that it was empty, and continued running. "Where's Anakin?"

_"He's at the shuttle, sir."_

Kit reached the main hallway and paused briefly. Turning left would bring him to the shuttle, turning right would bring him to Obi-Wan. He turned left. "I imagine Anakin will need his lightsaber. Dooku won't let us go that easily. Get everyone you can onto the _Twilight, _quickly!"

_"Already done, sir."_

He reached the stairs leading up to Saresh's house in time to see Anakin already stumbling down. "Anakin, catch!" he called, flinging the lightsaber. "Dooku is close behind!"

Anakin steadied himself, eyes intense. "I'll be ready. Get Obi-Wan out of there."

* * *

Obi-Wan closed his eyes, putting all his focus into locating Ventress. She'd shielded herself again – but why? "Rex, can Ventress get around our position from this hallway?"

"Not as far as I know," the captain replied.

_"She'd have to backtrack past the Deltas' current position, then go through Saresh's house," _cut in Advisor. _"General Fisto's on his way, and Delta Squad is nearing your position."_

Cody glanced over his shoulder at Obi-Wan. "If she attacks she'll have to do it –"

He stopped, his gaze flicking back and forth in confusion.

Namer stepped forward. "Commander?"

Cody and Rex lowered their weapons, and Obi-Wan felt a sudden surge in the Force. Stepping forward, he flung out both hands, shoving Rex and Cody to either side of the hallway as Ventress leaped in, her sabers slicing through the air where the clones had been an instant before.

Ignoring them, she lunged straight at Obi-Wan. He ducked and caught her wrists, struggling to push her blades away from his face. Namer fired at her, and she twisted, to block the shots. She performed a backflip to gain some distance, then Force-pushed Obi-Wan violently back.

Obi-Wan's head cracked against the wall, and he dropped to the ground on his hands and knees. He'd been dizzy before, but now he could scarcely see straight. A wavering beam of red light drew closer, and he blinked twice and tried to stand.

"Die, Jedi," she hissed, right next to his ear.

He jerked away, lifting his hands in a futile attempt at defense. Something caught him around the shoulders and threw him to the ground.

Ventress let out a high-pitched shriek of anger just as the tip of her lightsaber burned against his collarbone.

Obi-Wan tried to jerk away, but he was already lying flat on his back.

_"Ventress!"_ snapped an accented voice, accompanied by the sound of an igniting lightsaber.

Obi-Wan blinked again, trying to clear his vision, and realized that someone was lying across him, pinning him to the ground. 

* * *

Anakin stood at the base of the stairs, lightsaber hilt clenched in his right hand as he waited for Dooku. Trap and Flash stood behind him with Kix and Jesse. All of them held blasters that they'd borrowed from the other clones.

Their guns would do nothing against the Sith Lord.

"You guys get back to the ship," he ordered, then winced at how weak his voice sounded. He cleared his throat. "Go on, I'll wait here."

"All due respect, sir," said Kix. "You're in no shape to fight Dooku."

"That's not for you to decide," he snarked back unprofessionally, despite knowing that Kix was right: Anakin's strength was gone.

But his anger at Dooku would sustain him where natural strength failed.

Kix said nothing, though his disapproval was tangible. He could disapprove all he liked, as long as he didn't try to drag Anakin back to the ship.

Dooku was very close. . .

Anakin glanced over his shoulder. "If you're going to stay, fine. Just keep out of my way," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," replied Trap obediently.

Flash took a deliberate step back.

Anakin rolled his eyes, then turned his focus back to Dooku's nearing presence.

The Sith Lord stepped into the room. "Skywalker," he greeted formally. "I am not surprised to see you still here, but I must question your judgment in choosing to face me."

Anakin ignited his lightsaber, and Dooku frowned.

Stepping forward, Anakin said, "You didn't finish your duel with Master Fisto. What happened, did you run away again?"

"Quite the opposite, I assure you. Surrender, Skywalker, and I'll let your men live."

"See, now we've got a problem," Anakin retorted, glancing back at his soldiers with a one-sided smirk. "Even if I surrendered, they wouldn't."

"Got it one, General," said Jesse, raising his rifle to point over Anakin's shoulder.

Dooku shook his head in mock sorrow and spun his red blade one-handed, putting his left hand behind his back. Anakin raised his lightsaber over his head and leaped forward with a yell, slamming his blade into the other's with all his strength. Dooku took a step back, then another.

Anakin pressed him, hammering blow after blow against the Sith's defenses. Dooku was _not _winning, not this time.

* * *

Delta Thirty-Eight moved silently behind Sev, allowing the sniper to stay on point as they hurried toward the shuttle. It felt strange, having no weapon in his hands – he'd lost his pistol, as well as Scorch's, and Scorch still had his rifle. It didn't matter, though; Boss wouldn't be able to hold either right now.

He'd barely managed to flex his left wrist and lock his vibroblade in place, but his right arm was unresponsive. . . which would be a problem if they ran into any enemies.

"Advisor," he said, turning to cast a glance at Fixer, who was lagging. "We're coming up on the main corridor."

_"Roger that, Thirty-Eight." _Advisor somehow managed to sound both relieved and concerned._ "Be careful. Ventress is nearby and moving toward General Kenobi, and Fisto's gone to help – wait. Scans show one signal near you, closing fast."_

Boss moved to one side of the hall, Scorch close behind him, while Sev and Fixer took the other. "Any further intel?"

_"Negative. All friendlies are accounted for."_

Sev went down on one knee, readying his rifle.

A shadow flitted across the hall from one of the side corridors, then drew back. A rasping noise sounded a moment later, and then a quick scraping, like metal over stone.

An instant later, all was silent.

Boss waited for several long seconds before asking quietly, "Where is it?"

"Visual scan shows nothing, sir," Fixer answered.

_"I've lost the signal,"_ Advisor said abruptly. _"Blast! Be careful, Deltas. He probably has a localized jamming device."_

Boss hesitated. They couldn't stay where they were – the citizens were probably tearing through Scorch's blockade at this very moment. "All right, squad," he said, moving forward. "Form up and stay close."

They closed ranks, the only sound that of their boots clicking over the stone. They reached the main corridor and halted. Thirty-Eight turned to Sev, who lowered his head slightly in a nod. They were being followed.

Boss glanced over his shoulder. Sev and Scorch were fine, but Boss knew that he and Fixer were liabilities. If the enemy was skilled enough, it was possible that he could take out the squad. But if there were two groups, he would be forced to pick one. . . and it was most likely that the enemy would go after the squad leader.

_Fixer and Scorch aren't going to like this. _Boss turned to them. "Scorch. You and Fixer head back down this hall. Get to the shuttle. Sev and I will meet up with the Jedi generals – after we handle this."

Scorch and Fixer looked at each other, then back at him. Neither moved.

Something scraped softly against the ceiling in the next room.

Sev whipped his rifle up. Boss took a threatening step toward the other two and snapped, "_Move_ it, commandos!"

"Yes, sir." Fixer automatically lifted one hand, signaling for Scorch to form up.

Scorch, after another moment of hesitation, turned to follow him.

* * *

**To make up for the long time it's been since my last update, you get an update of Misadventures on Friday, and I will be posting on this again soon. **

**In the interim, I have a couple of stories I highly, HIGHLY recommend to all serious authors (and clone-lovers) out there. The author, Sabari, wrote two stories that I absolutely love: 'Lost Fortune' and 'Survivors of Fortune'. They are Clone Wars stories, with a unique take on the clones, and the characters are the best-developed I've come across in any fandom. I'd seen them multiple times without reading them, thinking that the premise sounded a tad dull. And besides, the characters were OCs - I hadn't had a lot of luck with finding stories with REAL OCs. If you know what I mean. **

**Now, I wish I'd read them earlier. . . :D And - honestly, I learned so much about effective writing from reading them. I'm on my second read-through. ;D**

**Anyway, I'll stop chattering now. . . But if any of you end up reading them, I'd be more than happy to message back and forth about them. . .**


	37. Chapter 37

**I suspect that I should blame KarajeJinsta for this fast update. She reviewed every chapter in one night (thanks!) and then proceeded to threaten me. Faced with such zeal, I had to comply. :)**

**Well - that, and we're rapidly nearing the end of the story. . . ! **

**I can't tell whether I'm glad or sad about that. *sniff***

* * *

Cody couldn't remember what he'd been trying to tell General Kenobi. One moment he'd been talking, and the next his thoughts seemed to freeze. He was still staring at the general in confusion when he felt himself drop his pistol. A vague thought came into his mind – _could the Nightsister still be _alive_?_

Before he could fully consider the question, Obi-Wan flung out his hands, and Cody felt himself land against the wall. A dull buzz filled his ears as a red lightsaber blade flicked past his head, and the fog in his mind vanished.

Cody lunged to his feet and snatched up his pistol, Rex already ahead of him, and he was just straightening when a Weequay slammed into Rex from behind, knocking him forward.

Rex bent at the waist and twisted, flinging his assailant to the ground just as Cody caught sight of a new threat – a Weequay and two humans in the hallway, half-hidden behind the pillars as they aimed at the two clones.

A flurry of lasers flew past. Rex shot his attacker twice and dove for the opposite wall. Cody dropped to one knee near the door, using the partial wall for cover, and fired off a few rounds. He didn't dare turn around to see how the general was doing – if he and Rex gave them the chance, these guys would finish off Obi-Wan themselves.

Behind him, there was a sudden commotion, and Ventress shrieked.

_"Ventress!" _shouted Kit Fisto, and a lightsaber ignited.

"About time, General," Cody muttered, ducking back as a laser flew uncomfortably close to his head.

"I can't get an angle," said Rex as the sounds of dueling broke out in the room behind them. "I'll draw, you take 'em down."

"No!" snapped Cody, glancing at the hall. "There's not enough room to maneuver."

Rex cast him a look that clearly meant 'then think of a better idea'.

Fortunately, Cody already had a better idea. He leaned out from cover to send a few more shots at the nearest human. "Get on the comm. Warn the Deltas they're coming up on a firefight."

* * *

Delta Thirty-Eight stood in the center of the dim hallway as Sev moved silently to the opposite end. The lights flickered twice, dimmed, and brightened. Boss forced himself not to look up as the faint rasping sound drew closer and closer, then came to an abrupt halt, directly above him.

Deliberately, Boss glanced around. He took a step forward, then another.

And another. . .

A yellow Trandoshan, wearing a lot more armor and equipment than the average grunt, swung down from the ceiling and raised a long rifle.

Boss jerked back, and Sev fired.

The shot missed as the Trandoshan leapt the side. His eyes with their slitted pupils focused on Sev almost immediately, and he darted from side to side, moving more like a cat than a lizard as he kept Boss between himself and Sev.

"I will take your heads for trophies." His rattling voice filled the hall, and he let out a long hiss, pointing his rifle at Boss' chest.

Thirty-Eight lifted his left arm with an effort, readying his vibroblade in a move designed to draw his opponent's attention. "We'll see about that, lizard."

The yellow eyes narrowed.

Boss waited half a second, then stepped back and turned on one heel. Sev's shot went past his visor, leaving a blue streak of light behind it, just as the Trandoshan's rifle let out a high-pitched sound. A red laser shattered into the wall beside Sev's neck.

Sev didn't even flinch. He moved forward at a run, firing steadily as Thirty-Eight slipped toward the next corridor. The Trandoshan snarled.

A laser slammed into Boss' back, hitting his supplies pack and knocking him forward. He regained his footing and dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the next laser.

Whatever weapon this Trandoshan had, it was definitely custom-made. No normal blasters had that amount of power.

Boss' helmet comm clicked. _"Deltas," _Captain Rex said. _"There are three hostiles ahead of you. Cody and I are keeping them occupied for now."_

"Understood," replied Boss, ducking again and catching himself against the wall with one hand. "Give us thirty seconds."

What he wouldn't give for his blaster right now – not that he could really hold it even if he had it. Another shot hit his arm, and he winced as his shields sputtered out.

"Hold still!" Sev barked.

Boss froze. A red laser hit the wall right where his head would have been, had he kept moving.

Sev fired again, and this time the Trandoshan hissed in anger. There was a thud, and Boss heard Sev running towards him.

With a final burst of effort, Boss gained the entrance and slipped into the next hallway. Judging by the sound, there was a firefight going on up ahead. Thirty-Eight moved toward it, slowing enough to let Sev catch up. "Did you kill him?"

"Not sure," Sev muttered. "I'm out of sniper rounds, though."

Fixer's voice came through the comms. _"Sir, I'm putting the exit door on a timer."_

From behind them, the Trandoshan snarled, then muttered, "This is Bossk. I require . . . reinforcements. The commandos have separated."

Sev started to turn back, but Boss spoke, already moving quickly as he could. "No. We're running on borrowed time."

"Yes, sir."

They turned the corner and stopped short. Two humans and a Weequay, their backs to the commandos, were crouched behind support pillars, firing at Cody and Rex.  
Sev lifted his rifle and sent three quick bursts, one after the other. The last human caught on to what was happening and dove out of the way, right into the path of Captain Rex's shots.

Cody and Rex turned away immediately, back into the room, and Boss and Sev moved to join them, stepping over a dead Weequay. General Fisto was standing in the middle of the floor, exchanging rapid blows with Ventress. The speed of their movements made it dangerous to go anywhere near them.

Rex moved suddenly, then stopped short, his hand falling uselessly back down at his side. Boss followed his gaze.

On the far side of the room, near the open door that led to the shuttle, was General Kenobi, who had an ugly burn across the left side of his collarbone. Kenobi had one hand on a fallen trooper's shoulder – the veteran, Boss realized – while his other hand hovered uselessly above the charred hole in the soldier's back.

_"One minute," _said Fixer.

"Acknowledged," replied Boss. "Commander, time's up."

"I heard." Cody turned to General Kenobi. "Sir! Get to the shuttle!"

Kenobi looked up, dazed, then recognition entered his eyes. He looked from Cody to Ventress, and reached out a wavering hand. An instant later, Boss realized that he was unsuccessfully trying to summon his lightsaber, which Ventress wore on her belt.

General Kenobi steadied himself, and his face hardened.

"Oh, no you _don't_," muttered Cody, shoving his pistol in Rex's direction.

"Cody –?" began Rex.

To Thirty-Eight's complete shock, the commander lunged forward, directly into the duel. He dodged around Fisto's blade, causing the Nautolan to jerk back in surprise, then ducked beneath Ventress' blades, snatched Kenobi's lightsaber from her belt, and threw himself into a forward dive that ended in a somersault.

He landed next to his general and stood up, holding the weapon out. Kenobi took almost automatically, only his eyes showing his surprise.

Sev grunted, glancing at Rex. "And I thought _you_ were crazy," he said flatly.

Rex just stared from him to Cody.

The two Jedi converged on Ventress, who gave ground rapidly, backing toward the door the commandos had just come through. Boss shifted.

"Move it forward," ordered Rex, gesturing with his pistols, and the two commandos followed him as he edged around the room to Cody, who had turned the fallen trooper onto his back and was removing his helmet.

Rex knelt beside him and took off his own helmet. "Namer?"

There was no answer. Boss stared down at the dead trooper's face, which was oddly peaceful beneath his greying hair.

"He's gone, Rex," Cody said.

A sudden crash drew their attention, and General Fisto shouted, "That should hold her, Obi-Wan! We must leave!"

Rex closed his eyes, seeming to steel himself. He rested a hand on Namer's chest plate for a moment, then replaced his helmet. He got to his feet just as the Jedi ran up.

"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan said sadly, pausing beside them. Boss wondered whether he spoke to Rex or to Namer.

Kit Fisto shook his head slightly, eyes narrowed from Namer to Boss. "Sergeant, where are Fixer and Scorch?"

"I sent them to the shuttle," replied Boss.

"Then let's move," Kit Fisto replied, gesturing sharply. He led the way from the room.

* * *

Anakin bared his teeth as he was forced slowly backward toward the foot of the stairs. Dooku's eyes glittered victoriously as he continued his fierce attacks, but his expression was confident and serene.

Anakin's arms and hands ached from the repeated blows, and he was barely able to focus through the remnants of the shadows in his mind. He stepped back again, his knees almost giving out as Dooku landed a heavy blow, and then his heel hit the stair.

A faint flicker warned him just before the clones started shooting past him in an attempt to distract Dooku. The Sith lord sneered, lifting two fingers away from his curved lightsaber hilt to throw them back.

"You won't win, Dooku," Anakin said, struggling to keep his balance. "Even if you manage to beat me, you won't get by Obi-Wan _and _Master Fisto."

"Your strongest trait is your arrogance," mused Dooku, leaning his weight against Anakin's blade. "It is a pity that the Jedi failed to train that out of you."

"Why?" Anakin snarled, shaking all over with the strain. "Because I won't surrender?"

Dooku looked down his nose at him, not even seeming to struggle as he continued to increase his pressure against Anakin's lightsaber. "Because you continue to fight, even when it is impossible for you to win. That is pure foolishness."

"Better than running at the first hint of defeat," Anakin gasped, keeping up the conversation more out of habit than anything else.

Dooku's eyes narrowed and he glanced back ever so slightly. Then, as if suddenly tiring of the fight, he brought his other hand up to his lightsaber hilt.

Anakin staggered, his ankles catching against the lowest step, and he fell backwards to land on the stairs. He weakly raised his blade in a defensive position, but Dooku seemed to have lost interest and was now glancing at the far doorway.

"Cover the general!" shouted Flash, firing a quick burst.

Dooku swatted the shots into the far wall, then reached out and clutched at the air, lifting Flash off the ground.

Flash dropped his gun to grab at his throat, and Trap leaped past Anakin, already firing. Jesse joined him.

Anakin turned on his side, pushing himself up from the ground with one hand and clutching his lightsaber with the other. Kix crouched beside him, grabbed him by the forearms, and dragged him to a standing position. Anakin, swaying dizzily, barely noticed as Kix winced and braced his left wrist against his stomach.

Anakin slipped on the edge of the stair, steadied himself, and jumped into the air, aiming a savage blow at Dooku's neck as the Sith lord flung Trap through the air to land against Flash.

Dooku didn't even block Anakin's blade this time, instead using the Force to snatch it as he grabbed Anakin by the throat.

_Okay, that's new. _

Anakin dropped to his knees, fighting against the panic that filled his mind at the sudden lack of oxygen.

Dooku deactivated Anakin's lightsaber and put the end of the hilt against Anakin's throat. "Surrender, Skywalker."

_Why does he keep telling me to –?_

Two clone commandos entered the room.

Dooku threw Anakin back, turned again, and ignited both lightsabers. Fixer ignored him, instead kneeling to adjust the door controls. Scorch tilted his head, then charged Dooku, firing a steady stream of shots as he ran, body slightly turned so as to avoid the deflected shots.

_Huh. _Anakin struggled upright once more, this time with Kix and Jesse's help, and reached out a hand, wrenching his lightsaber from Dooku's hand.

Dooku leaped away and put his back to the far wall, spinning his saber to protect himself as Scorch, Trap, and Flash settled into a firing pattern.

Near the door, Fixer stopped whatever he was doing and limped over to join the others. "One minute," he said into his comm, then drew his pistol one-handed and added his own fire to the battle.

Anakin narrowed his eyes and waited, watching for an opening.

Dooku slashed at Scorch as he drew near. Scorch threw himself to the side, and Dooku followed. Anakin jumped to the commando's defense with the last of his strength, but he landed unsteadily. His legs gave out beneath him and he hit the ground with a crack that made his teeth jolt.

"Surrender," ordered Dooku again, and this time he spoke sharply, his breath coming in quick gasps as he held his blade beside Anakin's neck.

Anakin's anger and irritation at his failure filled him in a sudden rush that made his vision darken as energy returned to his limbs. He snatched at Dooku's wrist to pull himself up and shoved the elderly man back as he ignited his own weapon one last time, still keeping Dooku's wrist pinned to the wall.

For an endless moment, the Sith lord faced him silently, but there was a hint of arrogant fear in his gaze. "Well, young Skywalker? Are you going to kill me?"

Anakin's eyes felt hot as he glared at his enemy. "I'm not you, Dooku," he spat.

"You will pay for your insolence," replied Dooku, and his voice grew deeper. "You still . . . have not – _learned!"_

At the last word, a powerful blow slammed into Anakin's chest, and he staggered backwards and hit the ground hard. Dooku held his lightsaber horizontally and reached out with the other hand.

Anakin watched in horror as Trap was pulled through the air and impaled on the blade. He jerked once, then was still. Dooku deactivated his lightsaber, and Trap's body crumpled to the ground as the Sith turned his attention to the commandos.

"_Trap!_" The shout was followed by a yell of fury. Before Anakin could stop him, Flash sprinted across the room and threw himself against Dooku.

"Flash, no!" yelled Jesse, lowering his weapon.

"Thirty seconds!" Fixer warned.

Dooku glanced behind him at the door again. He caught Flash by the arm and shoved him back, following with a slash from his blade.

Scorch lunged forward, forcing Dooku to turn, just as Anakin intervened with the last of his strength. Between them, they managed to slow him just enough for Jesse to move in and drag Flash away. The blow that was meant for Flash's chest caught him in the arm instead, leaving a deep burn.

The Force flickered weakly, and Anakin turned dizzily, catching the onslaught of electricity on his blade before it could hit him. When he recovered, Kit Fisto was ordering everyone to retreat, and Obi-Wan was stumbling towards the stairs. Dooku was nowhere to be seen.

Scorch ran toward the corridor, but Cody caught his arm and forcibly yanked him to a halt. Rex yelled for his men to get moving. Flash was kneeling a short distance from Anakin, but Jesse dragged him to his feet.

"Five seconds!" shouted Fixer.

Boss stumbled through the empty doorway, Sev helping him along with a hard shove. An instant later, the blast doors slammed shut behind them and sealed with a hiss.

Anakin's vision was blacking out. He gave his head a hard shake as everyone moved to the center of the room. Kit Fisto ran toward the stairs. The others followed more slowly. Only Scorch and Sev were moving as efficiently as ever, the two of them falling back to cover the others' retreat. Flash slowed to a halt, sending a final, backwards glance at Trap's body. Jesse waited for a moment, then gave him a slight push.

Kix tapped Anakin on the arm. "General."

"I'm here," Anakin slurred. "Dooku?"

"He escaped, sir," said Rex, his voice hovering between anger and exhaustion.

Rather similar to how Anakin felt right now. . . The room felt like it spinning, even though it looked normal. Kix started walking, one hand on Anakin's elbow, and Anakin followed him mindlessly.

Rex's commlink flashed green.

_"Get on the shuttle, NOW!" _Advisor yelled. _"All of you, move it! Planetary defenses are coming online!"_


	38. Chapter 38

**I was intending to complete 'Separatist Web' this chapter, but I think I'll aim for a nice, even forty chapters instead. :)** **Either way, my dear readers, the story will be finished this week . . . !**

* * *

Kit Fisto ran up the stairway to Saresh's house, his lightsaber casting odd shadows over the stone steps. Sev and Scorch, who had waited with him at the back of the group, were just boarding the shuttle when it shuddered violently, almost knocking Scorch off-balance.

_"Rocket launchers!" _called Advisor. _"We can't take another of those hits!"_

"Get out of here!" Kit Fisto ordered. "Seal the doors!"

Sev glanced back at him from the doorway, but said nothing. The boarding ramp retracted, and the door hissed shut, leaving Kit Fisto alone.

_"General?" _Advisor said.

"I'll make my way to the _Twilight._ Switch, can you hold position?"

There was a faint crackle, and then the clone replied. _"Not for long, sir. I've had to take off – we have no room to maneuver."_

_ "General," _said another voice. _"I've got a trandoshan with a rocket launcher on my viewer. We have to pull back!"_

"Very well," replied Kit calmly, but he paused just inside the doorway, momentarily overcome by uncertainty. If the shuttles had to pull back, he'd have to find a way off this planet himself. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for another burst of action.

Then Rex spoke. _"Switch, land on top of the Cauldron!" _

_"Right away, sir." _

From the room below, Kit heard a metallic _clang _as someone tried to force the sealed door open. Outside, very close by, there was an explosion and a whistling sound as a second rocket was launched. Kit sprinted out the door and threw himself into the air.

The MagnaGuard turned to face him, the heavy rocket launcher resting on one of its cloaked shoulders, and fired again. Kit landed in a crouch on one foot, spinning to keep his balance. As he turned, he whipped his lightsaber around, behind his back, and jumped back to his feet. The droid fell apart, its top half hitting the ground first.

Deactivating his lightsaber, Kit cast a quick glance up at the shuttle, which was hovering twenty meters off the ground. He ran to the edge of the Cauldron, keeping to the shadows as he spoke. "Oddball, why are you waiting?"

_"Planetary defenses are online," _Oddball reminded him. _"They've got long-range cannons at the airfield."_

"Can't you get by?"

_"If our shields were full – maybe."_

_ "Sir, we've landed," _Switch reported. _"Uh . . . I've lost the trandoshan, though."_

Kit ran along the perimeter of the building, then leaped, soaring up through the night air to land on the surface of the Cauldron. The _Twilight _was waiting for him. Boil, Waxer, and Snap stood on the boarding ramp, waiting for him.

He was nearing them when a whisper of warning crossed his mind. At the same moment, Snap jerked his rifle into firing position and let off a volley of shots, directly over Kit Fisto's shoulder.

Something gave a rattling hiss.

"Well, it looks like we found that trandoshan again!" Kit exclaimed, pivoting on his heel and activating his lightsaber.

A rocket was flying straight towards his head. If he dodged it, it would hit the _Twilight _and kill everyone inside it. Kit Fisto dropped his lightsaber and braced himself, hands upraised.

The rocket was inches from his hands as he summoned the Force in a powerful, focused blow. It reversed direction, flew into the roof some meters away, and exploded.

For the second time that night, Kit was sent flying. He landed hard and rolled several times, coming to a stop when he slammed into the supports of the _Twilight's _boarding ramp.

"Well, that hurt," he mused, getting up and summoning his lightsaber back. The trandoshan was nowhere to be seen, but he wasn't dead, either. "Let's go, Switch!"

Waxer and Boil moved back into the shuttle. Snap waited on the ramp, an almost suspicious tilt to his helmet – he seemed to think that Kit Fisto wouldn't actually make it onto the shuttle.

Given the day's happenings, Kit couldn't really blame him. He grinned and ran up the ramp. Snap followed, and the door shut.

"General!" Sergeant Boomer had been kneeling beside Gadget, but he got stiffly to his feet, leaning against the wall as the ship took off.

"We're not out of danger yet," Kit Fisto said thoughtfully, waving him back. "Stay there, Boomer."

"Yes, sir. Wooley's on the gun, and Switch is on sensors."

"I will join them, then."

Boomer cast a look at the other clones. The 212th troopers had moved to the fold-down seats on the walls and were fastening the safety buckles. The 501st troopers were still standing, and Boomer frowned. "Fives! Echo! Det! Strap in, you idiots."

They rushed to obey, and Boomer made sure Gadget was secured before limping over to join them.

Kit Fisto moved to the cockpit. Switch was piloting, slowly maneuvering the ship between the buildings along the wide street. Wooley stood in the center of the cockpit, his hands on the firing controls. Longshot cast darting glances at three different displays in front of him.

_"General," _said Oddball. _"One ship might make it past those cannons if I fly this shuttle like a fighter, but it's risky – and two ships won't have a chance."_

"I see." Kit looked over at Longshot, who nodded his agreement of Oddball's assessment. "Then we'll have to take out the cannons."

_"General Fisto," _cut in Advisor. _"We don't have the firepower to take those down."_

"I know." Kit moved to the viewport and leaned on the back of Switch's chair, peering at the dark city. "But our only other option is to maneuver through the streets below roof level."

_"We won't have time," _Anakin said, his voice weak. _"They'll send fighters after us soon, if they haven't already."_

Kit Fisto watched as the _Twilight_ and the other shuttle neared the warehouse where he and the clones had hidden before moving into the Cauldron. An idea began to form in his mind, and he tapped Switch on the shoulder. "Can you slow the ship?"

"Yes, sir."

"Slow down, then. I'm going to take care of those cannons."

He headed aft, ignoring the clones' surprise. It was an insane idea, but they hadn't come all this way only to die here, so close to escape. If one had to die so that the rest could live, so be it.

"Lower the boarding ramp," he ordered.

He stepped out onto it once more, the cold night air rushing into the ship. The landspeeder he'd parked should still be nearby. With a final, quick look at the empty street below him, he jumped out into the dark.

* * *

Delta Thirty-Eight looked at the schematics of Heela's defense system. Eight heavy fire cannons were positioned in the exact center of the city, each pointing in a different direction. "Why didn't we see this before?"

"It was under a retractable roof," said Commander Cody, studying the display with narrowed eyes. "And we didn't get a reading on them because they were powered down until just now."

Scorch shook his head. "General Fisto's never going to take those cannons. Not by himself."

"You're right." General Skywalker leaned between Cody and Rex to glance at the schematics. "He'll need help."

Boss looked at him thoughtfully. Given that Skywalker was visibly shaking, and barely able to stand, he'd better not be thinking of jumping down there.

Before he could put this thought into words, Captain Rex spoke. "General, with all due respect – we've already had to rescue you once."

The Jedi glanced at him, unwillingly agreeing. "I'm . . . yeah, I know. And Obi-Wan's even worse – we'd better not tell him that Master Fisto needs help, or –"

"Understood," said Cody, his face blank.

"I'll get on the turret," General Skywalker said. "Who's able to get down there one more time?"

Thirty-Eight glanced at Scorch, who nodded shortly. "We'll go, sir."

"All of you?" The Jedi sounded surprised.

Boss didn't waste time explaining. "Advisor?"

"Oddball, change course," Advisor said, staring at the display. "Get us there fast."

Without a word, Oddball increased speed. The shuttle gained altitude, its wings a meter above the rooftops.

"One minute to target. No lifeforms present," Advisor said. He twisted in his seat to glance at Boss, who raised an eyebrow. The bacta implants hadn't repaired the damage to his right arm yet, but he was well able to function. Advisor started to speak, then hesitated.

Boss turned to his team. "Commandos, get me every thermal detonator on the ship."

"Right away, sir." Fixer left the room at a run.

Rex drew his pistols and flipped them around, then handed one to Boss and the other to Fixer. There was a definite smirk in his voice when he said, "Looks like you guys got careless with your weapons. I want these back."

"Understood, Captain," said Fixer.

Boss tilted his head, studying the DC-17 for longer than was necessary. "We'll try not to damage them."

Cody looked over at him. "I can't reach General Fisto. It looks like he shut off his comm – probably to avoid detection."

"That could be a problem," Sev said. "He won't know we're there."

It could be, but Boss wasn't concerned about General Fisto accidentally killing them. They'd have to be careful to avoid blowing him up, though.

"I'm going with you," said a voice, and Boss turned to see a 501st trooper standing next to him. He had a lightsaber burn scored through the armor of his left upper arm.

"Flash, no," said Rex, stepping forward.

"Captain." Flash turned to face him, his voice flat. "If we don't get off this planet, they'll have died for nothing. We have to take those cannons down, fast."

"You're not fit for battle."

"Neither are the commandos."

"That's not the point!"

Flash paused. "I know explosives. Better than you do, sir. I'll be able to help the Deltas complete their objectives more quickly."

Rex glanced at Cody, who said nothing.

"Fifteen seconds to target," said Advisor. He'd turned back to his display and was paying attention only to his job – at least outwardly.

Boss left the room and joined his team at the boarding ramp. A moment later, Rex came out, followed by Flash and Jesse.

"Permission to join you, Sergeant?" Flash said formally.

When Rex didn't argue, Boss nodded. The captain left the room without a word, and the door hissed open.

_"Good luck, Deltas," _said Advisor.

Scorch elbowed Jesse, sounding a bit uncertain. "We'll be moving in fast."

"We can keep up," replied Jesse, holding his blaster across his chest, ready to jump.

"Groups of three," said Boss, taking charge. "Jesse, Scorch and Sev. Flash, Fixer, with me."

"Yes, sir."

The ship slowed even more, nearly hovering now, and the boarding ramp extended, reaching over the roof of a wide building. Boss jumped, tucking into a roll as he hit the roof.

One after another, the other five clones jumped. The shuttle kept its boarding ramp out, losing altitude until it was once more shielded by the buildings around it.

Advisor had dropped them off just inside the high wall that protected the city's defense complex. The first cannon was only a few meters away.

"In and out," Boss said quietly. "Sev – take this one. We'll take the next. Keep heading around the complex that way."  
"Got it, sir."

Scorch and Sev knelt on either side of the cannon, placing the explosives while Jesse stood facing into the complex, ready to shoot at the first sign of a threat.

Boss moved quickly to the next cannon, holding his pistol left-handed. Nothing moved in the shadows. The cannons were automated, programmed to lock on to specific targets from a control center on the far side of the complex. If the control center were destroyed, the cannons could still be operated manually. Better to take down the threat right away.

Flash moved past and started laying detonator tape around the power cell. Fixer glanced at what he was doing, then wired a grenade to a remote detonator.

_"Delta Lead," _said Advisor. _"Three squads of vulture droids just launched, forty kilometers away."_

Fixer glanced up. "Detonator placed. We have less than two minutes to finish this and get back on the ship, sir."

* * *

**Thank you for reading! :)**


	39. Chapter 39

**Have another chapter! :)**

* * *

Rex entered the shuttle's cargo hold, Cody close behind him. Kix was cleaning a cut on the side of General Kenobi's head.

Obi-Wan looked up, waving Kix away. "Cody? What's the situation?"

"General Fisto's gone to destroy the cannons. Delta squad, Jesse, and Flash are also down there."

Kix's eyes had flickered to Cody when he mentioned Jesse, but he immediately went back to treating his patient.

Obi-Wan hummed, sounding unhappy, and tried to brush Kix off again. Kix refused to take notice.

Obi-Wan gave up. "Where's Anakin?"

"He's on the turret gun," said Cody neutrally.

Kix finished sealing the bacta patch and tapped the general on the shoulder. "You're all set, General."

"Good. Are we still near the complex?"

"Yes, sir, but you are not going down there," said Cody.

There was a brief pause. General Kenobi blinked in surprise.  
Rex and Cody left the room while he was still recovering.

Advisor spun to face them. "Three squads of vulture droids headed our way. ETA, two and a half minutes."

Cody leaned over to view the display. "Contact the _Negotiator _and tell them to get the defensive turrets online. We'll be coming in hot."

"Right away, Commander."

Anakin released the turret gun. "Rex, take over."

"Yes, sir. Where are you headed?"

His general stumbled slightly on his way from the cockpit, but turned to look at him with a confident, one-sided smirk. "The _Twilight._ _Some_one's gotta get it out of here in one piece, and it's not going to be Switch."

The comms clicked. _"Thanks for the vote of confidence, General." _

"Any time, Switch," Anakin replied. "You can co-pilot for me."

He left, and Rex looked out the side viewport in time to see him soar from the shuttle to the _Twilight, _which already had its boarding ramp extended.

Advisor was trying to reach General Fisto again, with no success. Rex set to work adjusting the controls on the turret gun. The vultures were closing fast. This mission had been a failure in that Ventress had escaped, but so far most of the Republic team had survived. They were _not _going to fail at the last minute, not if Rex had anything to say about it.

And he did have something to say about it. "I'll need more power on the guns."

Oddball looked at him over one shoulder. "I'm not sure how much I can give you, Captain. Shields are drawing forty percent right now, and I'll have to pull power from the engines if we want to survive more than a few laser hits."

Cody rested his chin in one hand. "General Skywalker, are you in position?"

_"Yes."_

"Good. As soon as we get the signal from Delta squad, head for the _Negotiator._"

Obi-Wan came in just as Anakin spoke again. _"Okay. What about you guys?"_

"Just get the vultures to follow you."

_"Yeah, okay. I hope you've got something good in mind, Cody, because fifteen vultures are a little much, even for me. Don't tell Obi-Wan."_

"I heard that, Anakin," Obi-Wan interjected, heading to the front of the cockpit. He sat down in the co-pilot's seat and fastened the security restraints. "All right, Oddball, it sounds like Cody has a plan. We'd best be ready to follow it."

Cody stared intently at the system diagnostics. "General Kenobi, prepare to cut power to shield system on my mark."

_"What are you _doing?" exclaimed Anakin.

Even Obi-Wan seemed to hesitate for half an instant, but said only, "Ready to cut power."

Rex cast a surprised look at him and privately agreed with his own general. Cody had better have something really good in mind.

* * *

Kit Fisto floored the landspeeder's accelerator and sent it straight at the security gate of the fast-approaching defense complex. He looked up at the two Republic ships, hovering close to the complex, in time to see a figure leap from one to the next.

The gate was meters away now, and Kit crouched, then jumped straight up, coming back down to the ground behind the vehicle as it slammed into the gate.

Igniting his lightsaber, he rushed past the flaming vehicle, through the gap in the security fence, and straight at the nearest cannon. He swung the lightsaber over his head, and the green blade sank into the metal with a sizzle. Automated turrets had a safety that would cause them to shut down if they overheated. All he had to do was get his blade close to the sensor wire . . . _there_. With a loud, diminishing hum, the cannon deactivated.

Only seven to go –

Kit hesitated. There were other beings here, not ten paces behind him and approaching fast. He swung around, lifting his blade, and Fixer skidded to a halt, both hands lifted slightly. "General?"

"Fixer!" Kit lowered his blade, realizing what must have happened. "How many cannons have you already dealt with?"

Boss ran past Fixer, a 501st trooper on his heels. "General. I just called the shuttle in. We have sixty seconds until the vultures show up."

"They have vulture droids now?"

"See, this is why you shouldn't turn your comm off," Scorch joked, coming up with Sev and Jesse.

"We've only got five cannons wired," said Jesse. "You wanted us to evac, Sergeant?"

"Yes." Boss pulled out a detpack and headed deeper into the complex. "Get to the shuttle. You too, commandos."

_"Delta Lead – what are you doing?" _Advisor demanded, audible through Jesse's comlink.

The sergeant didn't answer him. The other commandos seemed torn between obedience and loyalty, and even the regular troopers were hesitating. Kit Fisto turned to them. "I'll help him out. Get onboard."

Sev nodded. "Yes, sir."

Kit Fisto ran past the sergeant to the next cannon and set to work disabling it. Boss moved to the second one to set his explosives. Neither spoke. Kit finished first and jumped, reaching the third and final cannon.

"Sergeant, get back to the shuttle. I'll catch up."

Before he could respond, a high-pitched screaming sounded from above them, and a group of vulture droids whizzed overhead. Most of them veered around, but one flipped over and headed straight for the Jedi and the commando.

"Get back to the shuttle!" shouted Kit Fisto, stabbing his blade into the last cannon.

The sergeant pulled a sonic grenade off his belt with his left hand and broke into a run.

An instant later, Kit had disabled the cannon and was sprinting after him. He could feel the danger like a pressure around his head. They weren't going to make it. Heavy lasers spattered into the duracrete behind him, throwing him off-balance.

Just ahead of him, Delta Thirty-Eight turned on his heel, leaned back, and flung the grenade with all his strength. The vulture took the hit dead-on and swerved dangerously.

Kit leaped, knocking the sergeant to the ground, and looked up in time to see a huge fireball slam into the ground ten meters away. Shrapnel and sparks flew in all directions, and a piece of burning metal slammed into the base of one of the cannons.

The realization hit both of them at the same moment. The explosives were linked to the detonator, which Boss held – but fire would also set them off.

* * *

Cody and Rex stood on the boarding ramp, each clinging to a strut with one hand as Jesse and Flash fired their ascender cables into the ship to either side of the doorway. Cody wasn't absolutely sure, but the commandos seemed to be having a short and absolutely silent disagreement. As Flash and Jesse climbed up, Sev elbowed Scorch and tilted his helmet toward the shuttle. Scorch shook his head and pointed to Fixer, who was still slightly hunched from his earlier injury. Fixer, looking almost indignant, straightened and reached out to clout Scorch on the shoulder; he then pointed sharply to the shuttle.

Then Jesse reached the edge of the ramp, and Rex helped him up. With a quick nod, Jesse ran inside, past Kix, who was hovering in the doorway. The instant he was clear, Scorch fired his own cable.

Cody reached down to help Flash, who was barely hanging on with one hand. The trooper was struggling to reach up with his left hand.

"Cody!" yelled General Kenobi. "Vulture droids closing fast!"

With a muttered apology, Cody grabbed Flash's wrist and dragged him roughly up, shoving him towards Kix. "Get inside."

Scorch gained the ramp and knelt between Cody and Rex, loading an anti-armor round into his gun. "Keep your heads down," he warned.

The shrill sound of incoming fighters filled the air. Fixer was still climbing up on Cody's side, and Sev had just fired his cable, when his general shouted, "Look out!"

Rex moved behind Scorch to make room for Sev. The sniper swung himself up and got into firing position, moving like a panther. Fixer accepted Cody's help, but then stood at the very end of the ramp. Keeping his left arm and ankle hooked around the strut, he leaned precariously far out into open air.

Vulture droids screamed past overhead, then started a sweeping turn. They probably hadn't seen the Republic ships, since the shuttles' lights had been shut off, but that would change soon enough.

General Fisto and Boss were still missing. Cody joined Fixer, looking out into the complex. The bright lights set at intervals around the fence pointed mostly outward. Very little of the actual complex could be seen.

One of the vulture droids had pivoted and was turning back, directly over the complex. Fixer and Sev shot at precisely the same moment. Scorch remained motionless, apparently waiting for something. There was a flash of green light. For one strange second, Cody thought that he'd seen the general's lightsaber, swinging in an arc – and then the sound of an explosion reached him.

The vulture was in flames. The other vultures couldn't miss registering that. Cody glanced out in time to see General Fisto jump on Boss, knocking him out of the way as the ship crashed near a cannon. Then they were up and running for all they were worth.

"The explosives," said Fixer suddenly.

"Oh, _man!" _yelled Scorch. "The fire!"

Sev slung his rifle on his belt, then moved opposite Fixer to mirror his precarious position. "Uh – that's bad."

Cody swung around. "Get inside!"

Rex obeyed and the commandos did not. Cody shoved at Fixer and repeated his orders in a roar. "Get inside, NOW! Oddball, they're headed for the security gate!"

Immediately the ship swung around, and Cody clutched at Scorch to keep from being thrown overboard. The open door was now directly in front of Boss, who fired his cable and retracted it at top speed. He was three feet above the ramp when he let go, landing heavily next to Scorch. He stumbled inside just as a double flicker of red lasers flashed past, skimming the top of the shuttle.

General Fisto, still on the ground, turned as though he were intending to cut the droid in half as it flew over his head. Scorch leaned forward and fired. There was a second explosion, and the general finally jumped, landing at the very edge of the ramp. Fixer and Sev grabbed his elbows and forcefully propelled him towards the door. The normally graceful Jedi Master, caught by surprise, tripped slightly as he crossed the doorframe.

Cody was right behind him with Fixer and Sev.

The door hissed shut and sealed. Rex was already at the turret, and Oddball and Obi-Wan were frantically working to maneuver the ship safely through the swarm of droids that surrounded them on all sides.

The ship swerved, and everyone stumbled or fell. Cody locked his arms around the back of Advisor's chair and leaned forward to view his displays.

_"Having fun over there?" _called Anakin. _"Hold position. Switch and I have a plan . . ."_

Out of the corner of his eye, Cody saw Obi-Wan throttling back the engines. He stared at the red and green dots on the screen. Closer . . . closer . . .

And the _Twilight _rushed past, tilting at the last second to clip a vulture droid at the tip of one wing. The droid spun crazily, and the others turned, their programming causing them to take out what seemed to be the bigger threat.

"Cut shields!" snapped Cody. "Increase power to weapons system by ten percent!"

"On it, sir." Oddball had finished carrying out the orders almost before Cody had finished giving them.

_"Hope that works, because now we're in big trouble," _Anakin said cheerfully.

Cody raised an eyebrow and looked down at the screen. The big green dot that showed the _Twilight's _position was now being followed by thirteen small red dots. Time to cut that number down. "Rex? Time's wasting!"

"On it," Rex replied. "We're in range in two, one –"

The shuttle's turret let out a salvo of shots, more quickly than usual. One red dot disappeared. The green dot was swerving crazily, jinking from side to side.

_"This isn't working!" _called Anakin. _"The shields won't recharge fast enough!"_

Another red dot disappeared.

"Cody, we'll give them time!" Obi-Wan called over one shoulder. "Accelerating!"

"Get the shields back up," ordered Cody. "Cut weapons power. General Skywalker, we're switching places."

_"Right. Well, Snap is up here, ready for some targets. Let us know when you get bored."_

The _Twilight _cut power abruptly, seeming to fall back as the vultures overshot it, and the shuttle rapidly gained on them, swerving in and out among the swarm of droids. They were out of the atmosphere now, and the artificial gravity had kicked in, drawing yet more of the ship's power.

"Starting evasive maneuvers," said Oddball.

The shuttle banked hard to the left, and Obi-Wan sighed, shrinking in his seat. "And here I thought I'd be safe with Anakin piloting a different ship."

Kit Fisto chuckled even as he and the commandos moved to the hold to secure themselves. Cody took the seat across from Advisor, and Rex pulled the restraints out from the turret control and secured himself to it.

A multiple blast of laser fire hit them from behind, and then something heavy slammed into them. Everyone was thrown forward or sideways. Cody felt as though a hard wall had been throw into him, shoving him to the left, and his vision blacked out momentarily.

When his ears stopped ringing, he realized that Oddball had shut off the gravity generator, which would make it much easier to avoid injury. At the same time, they couldn't leave it off for too long. If the shuttle entered the gravity field generated by the _Negotiator _at too high a speed, it would feel like a high-speed crash.

_"Shields are up," _said Anakin. _"I'm switching with you guys again – you just took a beating. Stupid vulture crashed right into you."_

"Yes, well, maybe if–" Obi-Wan cut off, sounding rather ill, as Oddball accelerated, driving the ship into a tight overhead loop.

_"What was that, Master? I can't hear you!" _General Skywalker seemed to think that there was nothing in the universe more fun than pulling crazy stunts in an old, frequently upgraded and purposefully shot-up shuttle.

Cody and Obi-Wan sighed at exactly the same time.

The two shuttles had switched places once more. There were only eight vultures left, Cody was impressed to note, and the _Negotiator _was coming up fast.

"_Negotiator, _this is General Kenobi," Obi-Wan said. "Come in, please."

_"This is the _Negotiator. _Ready to come on board, sir?"_

"Just get these vultures off of us, and we can get out of here."

_"Sure thing, sir. The boys can use the practice, anyway." _

"I always try to please, Gearshift," Obi-Wan replied lightly. "Anakin?"

_"I'll head right over the _Negotiator, _Master," _Anakin said. "You guys land."

"Very well." Obi-Wan leaned over. "Turning on gravity."

"Landing vector acquired," reported Oddball.

Cody was still watching the display. The _Twilight _had overshot the _Negotiator _and was coming back around to land. Two of the vultures had already disappeared when the _Negotiator's _hangar bay opened. The shuttle slowed almost to a crawl.

One of the red dots reversed suddenly, coming around in a tight curve, straight for the shuttle, which had just started the landing sequence. "It's going to ram us!" cried Cody, leaning forward. "Rex, take it down!"

Rex swerved, firing continuously as Oddball attempted to cancel the landing sequence. The vulture ducked beneath the stream of lasers. Rex hit it anyway, but it was too late. The flaming starfighter slammed directly into the shuttle's stern.

Cody barely saw Rex get thrown into the turret controls before the shuttle lost control and slammed into the hangar.

* * *

**Sheesh, these guys can't catch a break. . . :) Ah, well. One more chapter to go, and the story will be complete!**

**I was going to quote Palpatine . . . "And your journey to the Dark Side will be complete." But that's not _quite _accurate, of course. ;D  
**


	40. Chapter 40

**Okay, this is twice the length of my usual chapters. . . and I'm not hugely happy with the ending, but I might think up a better one later. For now, I've worked on this for the past six hours and am thinking in circles, so it's as good as it will get! :) I hope you like it.**

* * *

Obi-Wan hung upside down in his restraints, gritting his teeth as the shuttle skidded across the hangar floor in a wide turn.

Beside him, Oddball calmly cut the engines and shut down all the systems, one after the other. The lights at the comm station blinked green as Gearshift called, _"Are you guys all right down there?"_

"Yes, thank you, Gearshift," Obi-Wan replied. He was about to unfasten his restraints when the ship jolted one last time, and he bit his tongue instead.

He sniffed in displeasure and wiped his mouth on his sleeve, grimacing at the smear of blood across the fabric. _So_ uncivilized, but swallowing would have been worse.

Oddball had managed to get out of his restraints without falling on his head, and Obi-Wan quickly followed his example. Usually, in crashes, the pilots were the worst off, but it seemed that the shuttle's flipping over was a blessing in disguise. The shape of the shuttle had actually protected him and Oddball.

Rex was hanging limply against his restraints, but Oddball was heading in his direction, so Obi-Wan checked the other occupants of the cockpit. Advisor moved to the door and set to work prying it open.

Cody, on the other hand, was slumped sideways in his seat and only just starting to move. Obi-Wan moved across the ceiling to reach him. "Cody?"

Cody fumbled uselessly at the security belt, which had twisted halfway around, and his tone was somewhat slurred as he said, "Respectfully, General, your piloting skills are terrible."

It was the most disgruntled Cody had ever sounded, though the crash was in no way Obi-Wan's fault.

Obi-Wan gave him a pleasant smile and moved to assist with the restraints. "Well, at least you're conscious."

Cody simply eyed him in resigned exasperation.

Someone groaned behind them, and the sound reminded Obi-Wan that they were in a crashed shuttle. His smile faded. "It . . . might be wise to evacuate."

Cody's expression of incredulity was, momentarily, a shade on the disrespectful side; but then he stood up and turned around. "Rex?"

Obi-Wan turned to see that Oddball had hauled Anakin's captain upright. Rex wasn't injured – or at least, he seemed to think he wasn't. Rex straightened, stepped away from Oddball, and promptly collapsed.

_Rex is as bad as Anakin,_ Obi-Wan thought hypocritically. Leaving Oddball and Cody to sort him out, he stumbled aft to see how Kit and the commandos were.

Kit Fisto was just getting out of his own restraints as Obi-Wan entered the hold. The Nautolan was moving easily, uninjured as always, and when he caught sight of Obi-Wan, he called, "We have been fortunate, Obi-Wan!"

"I should think so." If his reply was a little more snippy than usual, it wasn't exactly his fault. Had he been asked, Obi-Wan would have said he didn't believe in luck, but Kit's constant ability to escape injury was pushing the limits of his alleged disbelief. It was simply uncanny, the number of missions Kit returned from looking as though he'd just left the Temple for a stroll.

Setting aside this line of thought, Obi-Wan turned to the troopers, who seemed mostly all right – well, apart from the injuries they'd already had. Jesse moved stiffly to join Kix, who held his left arm immobile while keeping an eye on Flash, who was listing to one side.

In comparison, the commandos stood upright and apparently alert, but then Sev removed his helmet, looking rather ill.

Scorch said something, and Sev replied in an undertone. Obi-Wan, who's ears were ringing, only caught the end of his comment. "– just like you."

"Hey, _I _only crash-landed one time," snipped Scorch.

"Yeah. . . one time too many."

"Crash-landing's better than crashing, isn't it?"

Fixer pulled off his own helmet and fixed the two of them with a warning glower.

Scorch abruptly switched topics. "The cargo bay door is jammed. We're gonna have to blow it open."

"No," said Boss.

"You're no fun, sir."

Boss tilted his head, perhaps in acknowledgement. "Let's move out, Deltas."

The commandos went into the cockpit, closely followed by the other clones.

Kit Fisto straightened up, stretched his arms out to either side, and twisted with a dreadful cracking noise. When Obi-Wan flinched, Kit smiled at him and twisted in the other direction.

Obi-Wan squeezed the bridge of his nose, briefly meditating on the value of patience with fellow Council members. "Shall we see if the others have managed to open the doors yet?"

"Lead the way," Kit replied, and cracked his neck.

Obi-Wan frowned at him and folded his arms. "_Do_ you mind?"

"Not particularly, no."

* * *

Anakin watched in approval as the _Negotiator's _gunners took out the last of the vulture droids that had been following him.

"General!" said Switch. "One droid broke away. It's headed for the –"

A bright flash to starboard caught Anakin's attention.

"– hangar . . ." Switch finished. "General Kenobi, come in!"

When there was only static, Anakin threw the _Twilight _into a tight curve.

A clone's voice came through from the _Negotiator_ on an open channel. _"Are you guys all right down there?"_

To Anakin's great relief, Obi-Wan replied. _"Yes, thank you, Gearshift."_

He slowed the ship to a more manageable speed before guiding the ship carefully through the doors into the hangar. The other shuttle had crashed upside down, and Anakin maneuvered around it. "We're onboard," he reported, landing several meters inside the shield. "Close the bay doors and get us out of here."

"_Right away, General," _replied a different clone. _"Coordinates set for the Endor system. Entering hyperspace now."_

A squad of clones, two of them lugging fire extinguishers, entered the bay at a run and moved toward Obi-Wan's shuttle.

Switch shut off the engines and glanced over at Anakin, who returned the look while slouched back in his seat. Now that the danger was past, he felt exhausted and wrung out, and his limbs were aching dreadfully.

With a groan, Anakin hauled himself to his feet. He turned away from the control panel and towards the hold, clinging to the wall for support. "Sound off, guys. Everyone okay?"

"Everyone's okay, sir," reported Waxer, hitting the release for the cargo bay door.

"Alive, anyway," added Fives, moving over to help Boomer. "Hang on, Sergeant."

The boarding ramp hit the ground with a dull _clang, _and a 212th medic bounded up, slinging his pack off. "Critically injured?"

Gadget attempted to sit up. Snap, who stood beside him, pushed him back down with scarcely a glance as Switch limped over to join them.

"Gadget's the worst off," Wooley told the medic. "The rest of us can walk fine."

"Uh," said Boil, glancing down at the laser burn marks on the left leg of Wooley's armor. "Might want to rethink that, sir."

Wooley turned to him. "The rest of us," he said slowly, "can walk _fine._"

And he proceeded to the ramp, leaning heavily on Boil and disproving his own point.

The medic glanced over the troopers and pointed to Fives and Echo. "You two, help me get him to medbay. The rest of you report there on the double. You too, General."

"What?" Anakin held up both hands in a placating gesture. "Uh, no; no, I'm good."

The clone folded his arms and looked him in the eye. One eyebrow lifted slowly.

Anakin gazed back stubbornly. "I'm just tired."

"Yeah," the medic drawled. "I can see that."

"Anakin!" called an all-too-familiar voice. Obi-Wan appeared at the end of the ramp, pausing briefly to glance over the men. "Must you _always _cause trouble?"

"General Kenobi," interrupted the medic.

Obi-Wan turned to face him, his expression one of polite interest. "Stitch. How have things been here?"

Stitch ignored the question. "It might help if you'd, ah, set an example. I told the medical team to order you to medbay _immediately._"

Anakin snorted. "Well, Master, looks like your reputation precedes you."

"Anakin, really. Aren't you a little old for this?"

Stitch nodded, as though to himself. "All right. If you two aren't in the medbay in five minutes, I'm reporting you as medically unfit for duty."

The two Jedi stood quiet, united once more in the face of a common foe. Stitch turned and stalked off, following the group of injured clones.

Near the destroyed shuttle, Rex and Cody spoke to Advisor while Jesse, Kix, and Flash joined the others. The commandos and Master Fisto were nowhere in sight.

Anakin cast a sidelong glance at his master. "It might be . . . wise . . . to obey."

Obi-Wan sniffed thoughtfully. "You may be right."

Before either could move, Kit Fisto came into the bay, looking slightly confused. "A medic named Stitch just asked me to tell you 'four minutes'. I was on my way to report to the Jedi Council, but I can wait if you will be otherwise occupied."

Anakin rubbed his forehead. "Master Fisto, maybe you could make the report on your own this time?"

"An excellent idea," Obi-Wan added hastily. "We'll join you as soon as possible."

He turned and hurried across the hangar bay, Anakin close on his heels.

* * *

Rex sat on the edge of his cot, elbows on his knees as he held a cold pack against the side of his head. Cody sat a short distance away, leaning back against the wall with his eyes shut. Medics were moving quickly but quietly among the clones, treating the more severely injured first.

Gadget was sleeping on the other side of the room now, and Stitch, sounding surprised, had just declared him out of danger. They were all out of danger. No one was fatally injured. Gadget _had _been fatally injured, but thanks to General Fisto he would survive. No one else would die today.

Rex shifted the cold pack to the other side of his head and waited for the thrumming pain to stop. Two good men lost, on a mission that had failed. It was a miracle that the rest of them had survived, but Trap and Namer. . .

_They both went out like they wanted to._

Rex shared the feelings of many of the clones when he said he wanted to go out fighting. Fighting was what they did best, and what better way to die than in battle against the enemy? Trap had once said that he didn't care how he died, as long as he was fighting, and as long as he _wasn't _shot out of a gunship. But Namer had wanted to go out protecting, something Rex hadn't understood back when he was still a rookie.

Fighting was just one way of protecting, though, Rex realized that now. Namer would have made a good officer, but he'd never wanted a promotion. He'd been like old Ninety-Nine that way, satisfied with doing his job to the best of his ability.

_Ninety-Nine knew Namer, _Rex thought. _I'll have to tell him, next time I see him, that Namer went out protecting General Kenobi. _

Flash had been close with both Namer and Trap. Rex glanced over to where Flash was sitting, listlessly following the medic's orders as Stitch evaluated the damage to his arm. He would recover, physically and emotionally, though it might take a while. Stitch rested a hand briefly on Flash's shoulder before moving on to look over Wooley.

Rex got up and tossed the cold pack to one side, shaking his head slightly when Cody gave him a questioning look, and moved across the room to join Flash. "How are you holding up?"

Flash gave a tired shrug. "Medic says I'll be back on duty in a few days."

Rex waited.

"I . . . wish I'd been there," Flash said after a moment. "Namer, I mean. I never thought he'd – He was part of the Five-Oh-First before Trap and I came."

"Yeah," said Rex, sitting down next to him. A young medic moved past them to run a scanner over Det's throat, which was showing some bruising from the Force-choking he'd gotten.

"Trap thought I'd go out last." Flash let out an unwilling laugh. "He always said I was too stubborn to die." There was a short pause, and then Flash spoke again. "Dooku killed Trap because the general wouldn't surrender. It could have been me, or Kix, or Jesse."

Rex considered for a moment. "Trap wouldn't have wanted it to be you."

"No, he wouldn't." Flash drew a slow breath and let it out, then glanced up. "I'm gonna head to the barracks."

Rex stood up and pulled Flash to his feet. "Get some rest, soldier. You did well."

"Thank you, sir." Flash stepped towards the door, then paused and turned with a faint smirk. "Captain, thanks for letting me take out those cannons. I blew up two – one for each of them."

"I'm sure they'd appreciate it," Rex replied. He waited until Flash had left, then moved back to his cot and sat down again.

Cody eyed him thoughtfully. "How are you doing, Rex?"

"Good as you, anyway."

"That's not saying much," Cody pointed out.

"Better than you, then," corrected Rex. "_I_ didn't get myself blasted by Sith lightning."

"Oh, don't worry." Cody shifted into a more comfortable position, grimacing. "Next time I'll tell Dooku to try out his powers on you."

"Yeah, no thanks." Rex glanced at him. "Wonder where the generals got to?"

"They're probably waiting until the last possible second to get in here."

Cody was probably right.

* * *

When Kit Fisto entered the bridge, the presiding officer snapped a salute. "General, what are your orders?"

"Will you get me in contact with the Jedi Council?"

"Right away, sir." The officer gestured to the comms officer, who set up a connection immediately.

Kit stood easily before the holotable, his hands clasped behind his back. The glowing blue of hyperspace flowed by on all sides, lighting up the bridge with its calming gleam. It was almost like being deep underwater.

The holo flickered, and Master Yoda appeared. _"Master Fisto. Young Kenobi and Skywalker, rescue them, have you?"_

"We have, Master Yoda. Dooku and Ventress staged an elaborate trap, however, and we were forced to abort the mission. It took all our efforts to escape and even so, two of Anakin's men were killed."

_"Sorry to hear this, I am. Report in full when you return, you may. Rest until you reach Coruscant, you should."_

"Thank you, Master Yoda." Kit Fisto inclined his head. The minute the call cut off, he allowed a smile to cross his face. Perhaps he _should _rest, but there was plenty of time for that. First he should visit Anakin in medbay, perhaps see if he was feeling well enough to deal with the news that he had lost the bet.

But before he did that, he would go find the commandos and Advisor, since they had vanished. They were, most likely, still in the hangar.

He pressed his comm. "Advisor? Are you and the commandos in the hangar or the medbay?"

_"Neither, General. I'm finishing a report to High Command."_

"And the Deltas?"

_"They're in the armory. Thirty-Eight said that if they didn't get the sand out of their helmets now, they never would."_

"I see. I will join them, then."

_"Yes, sir. I'll be there shortly."_

With a nod to the officer, Kit Fisto left the bridge and headed for the lift, where he pressed the button for the armory. If he remembered correctly, only Sev still had his weapons intact. Boss and Fixer and Scorch had lost theirs in the arena, although Scorch had an extra blaster on the shuttle.

Kit stepped out of the lift and glanced down at the backs of his hands, which were covered in scrapes from the exploding vulture droid. Had Scorch shot it even half an instant later, the shrapnel could easily have taken off his hands entirely. The commandos had been described in their files as 'highly skilled'. 'Insanely skilled' was probably more accurate.

He turned a corner and paused. Boss sat on a crate, his helmet resting on his lap as he leaned on it, idly watching his squad mates. He didn't seem to notice Kit Fisto.

Fixer, to Boss' right, was studying his own helmet with narrowed eyes. "I think my transmitter was knocked out," he said.

Sev had set aside his helmet and was scrutinizing his rifle. "Sight's a little off. I'll have to recalibrate it."

Scorch tossed his helmet onto a nearby storage rack and stretched stiffly. "Mine's good. Not a scratch."

"There are plenty of new scratches," Fixer said, not looking up. "You were pretty close to that rocket, Six-Two."

"Hey, it's an expression. And we're not on the mission anymore."

Fixer blinked. "We are until we've been debriefed."

Scorch and Sev exchanged calmly aggravated looks, and Boss gave them all an amused, if tired, smirk. He picked up the dual pistols that belonged to Rex and stood up, clipping them both to his belt. "One thing's for sure, Fixer. We'll have to get new weapons before we get a new mission."

"Oh, man," Scorch cut in. "Two new DCs; three new pistols; a new vambrace for you, Boss; procurement's gonna kill us."

"Well," Sev added. "They'll at least kill you."

"Why? I didn't lose anything!"

"Nothing except your intelligence," replied Sev.

"Cut it _out, _Sev," Fixer sighed, setting down his helmet. He stood up and caught sight of Kit Fisto. "General?"

Boss got to his feet, and Sev and Scorch straightened up.

"I trust you are all well?" Kit Fisto said.

"Well enough, sir," Boss replied. "Is there something you need?"

"Not precisely." Kit grinned at them. "Although, if you accompany me to medbay, we could speak to General Skywalker about our bet."

Sev exchanged a smirk with Scorch, who grinned evilly. Fixer didn't look exactly pleased, but a gleam of quiet anticipation entered his eyes. Boss raised both eyebrows, as though the idea was worth only minor consideration, and everyone waited for his decision. "I should return Captain Rex's weapons," he said at last.

Scorch snickered and Kit Fisto beamed.

* * *

Cody's chief medical officer came over to join him. "Everyone's taken care of except for you and Captain Rex," Stitch said. Cody waved a hand in Rex's direction, and Stitch turned to him. "I can't do much for you, Captain, except recommend that you get eight hours of sleep. Need a painkiller?"

"Thanks. I could use one."

Stitch injected him, slipping the used hypo into a pouch on his belt. "Commander, injuries?"

"Electrocuted four times," Cody summarized neatly, leaning against the wall. "And don't give me anything yet, or I'll be out of it for hours. I'll wait for the generals."

And if Stitch said, "You'll be waiting a long time," he said it after he was well away from Cody, and Cody couldn't be absolutely sure it was he who had said it. It might have been Ghost who said it, or even Longshot . . . except that they were both sleeping.

"It's been six minutes," Rex observed after a moment of silence.

Cody glanced at his own chrono to verify. It had indeed been six minutes since Stitch's ultimatum, though the generals probably had another minute or two before the chief medical officer would get severely ticked off and start carrying out his threat.

Once the more seriously injured had been treated, Fives, Echo, Oddball, Waxer and Boil had been cleared almost immediately, although Stitch gave them twenty-four hours of medical leave and ordered them to get some rest or he'd know the reason why.

Det and Boomer were being kept here for the next twelve hours, as were Longshot, Wooley, Snap, Switch, and Ghost. Ghost's injury had been severe in its placement, and he wouldn't be in field combat any time soon. Still, it could have been so much worse.

Jesse lounged against the door, waiting for Kix to stop fussing around Gadget and the other clones who had been on the mission. Seven minutes. Stitch joined Kix, checked the cast on his wrist, and gestured toward the door. Kix was halfway to Jesse when he caught sight of Rex and Cody and veered in their direction instead.

"Kix," said Rex. "We're waiting for the generals. _You _have your orders."

"Captain . . ."

"Come on, Kix," said Jesse. "We'll go pester the guys in the barracks and make sure Fives and Boil aren't causing grief."

Kix looked hesitant for a moment before he nodded and left.

_Kix is just like every other medic, _thought Cody fondly, glancing at Stitch. They always hated getting treated when there were others around who needed taking care of.

Rather like certain Jedi he had the misfortune to know. He straightened as the door opened, allowing generals Kenobi and Skywalker to enter. They both looked dreadful, though Skywalker looked the worst. His face and left forearm were streaked with dried blood, and he was incredibly pale, with large, dark circles under his eyes.

"General," said Stitch, pointing him to a cot near Rex. "What happened to you?"

"Electrocution, cut on left arm," Anakin reported tiredly.

Stitch turned up his sleeve quickly and set to work cleaning the slash. "Stun batons or shots?"

"Batons."

"How many times?"

"Uh . . . Cody, what was it?"

"Twice while I was with you, sir," Cody supplied.

Anakin jerked his arm away slightly when Stitch applied synthflesh. "Okay, it was twice, then."

"Hmm. That doesn't account for your face, though," Stitch said, taking Anakin's jaw between his fingers so he could tilt his head to one side. He injected something in the general's neck and went back to work on his arm. "You look like you haven't eaten or slept in a week."

Anakin shrugged. "Something with a bog-witch," he mumbled, and yawned.

Stitch cast a glance at Obi-Wan. "General?"

"It's nothing you can treat here," Obi-Wan said. "But I think that, whatever she did, it's already mostly worn off. He will see a Jedi Healer when we reach Coruscant. Stitch applied synthflesh to the long cut on Anakin's arm, then nodded at the burn on Obi-Wan's collarbone. "Was that done with a lightsaber, sir?"

General Kenobi blinked. "I assure you, Stitch, it is merely a slight burn."

"And I assure _you, _General, that you're not getting out of here until I treat it. Burns are highly susceptible to infection. Even 'slight' burns."

Anakin snickered, then flopped down across his cot and rested his head on his arms. "Might as well stop arguing, Master," he mumbled.

"Oh, very well. . ." Obi-Wan glanced at Cody. "I've left orders. Once we reach the Endor system, we will set a course for Coruscant. Until we reach Coruscant, all the men who were on the mission are off-duty. That includes you, Commander."

"Yes, sir," Cody said, running a quick mental calculation. "I'll inform the officers not to expect you on the bridge for the next twenty hours."  
General Kenobi opened his mouth, shut it again, and gave him a half-heartedly displeased look. As Obi-Wan left to follow Switch, Cody could have sworn that he heard Anakin chortling into his pillow.

* * *

Delta Thirty-Eight entered medbay behind Advisor, who had joined them just outside. The room was quiet and the lights dim, but Cody was sitting close by, a medic injecting him with something as the commander conversed with Rex and General Skywalker.

Seeing the squad, Cody stood up, followed by Rex. General Skywalker sat up, observing them interestedly through bloodshot eyes.

"Commandos," he said. "I want to extend my thanks for your help today. And you, Master Fisto. I know we'd never have gotten out of there without the extra help."

Boss could tell, by the young general's voice, that he was truly thanking them. He probably didn't even remember about the bet at this point. Captain Rex, however, was another matter. As Anakin was speaking, he had given each of the commandos a searching gaze, then glanced resignedly at General Fisto.

Boss stepped forward, flipping the pistols over to hand them to Rex. "They're good weapons," he said casually. "You know how many droids you've taken out with them?"

Rex eyed him. "I lost count," he admitted.

Sev grunted. "Yeah. Same here. Nearly every mission."

"There are worse things," Advisor said.

"Not many," Scorch said. "I mean, not the way Sev acts about it."

"Listen, wise-guy," growled Sev, turning towards him.

Scorch mimicked his posture. "Listen, psycho."

"_Scorch,_" hissed Fixer.

"Keep it down," Cody suggested, motioning at the figure of the medic as he moved about in the dim light.

"Yeah," added Rex. "He's not the CMO, but . . . close enough."

"Very well," General Fisto said, smiling again. "We shall leave now, but you owe us drinks, Anakin."

General Skywalker rolled his eyes. _Ah, he did remember, after all. _"We'll beat you next time," he said assuredly. "But yeah, drinks are on us. This time."

"I look forward to next time," replied General Fisto.

Cody turned to Boss. "I'll speak with you again before we reach Coruscant. Thanks for your help back there."

"Any time, sir," Thirty-Eight said. Exchanging a nod with Rex, he left medbay, the other commandos falling into place around him. Advisor and General Fisto caught up with them a moment later.

"General," said Scorch. "There's something I've been wondering."

"Ask away, Scorch," the Jedi Master replied.

"Do Nautolans even drink?"

"Some do, yes," General Fisto replied, nodding with unusual gravity.

Sev cocked his head, homing in on a kill. "But – you don't, sir?"

"Never. But Anakin doesn't need to know that, does he?"

He strode on ahead, and Fixer exchanged a look with Boss, who smiled faintly. He never drank either. In fact, none of the commandos did. . . they'd gotten into the habit of letting nothing affect their performance. But General Fisto didn't need to know that, did he?

A quick look at his squad mates let him know that they were all in agreement.

* * *

_**Finis!**_

**Now that the end has finally (finally!) come, please consider leaving a quick review, even if you haven't before. I know you guys are out there; there have been hundreds of visitors, and over _ten thousand _views, to this story! So . . . even if you don't review, I want to thank you _very _much for reading. I hope you enjoyed it! :)**

**A special thanks to my reviewers! **

**GriffinStone, Slim 'Tech' Sherman, and KarajeJinsta all reviewed every single chapter! Thank you! Griffin left the most cohesive reviews, while Slim and Kara basically tied for frantic screaming and threatening. Very encouraging, guys, thanks. :)**

**AnnikaSkywalker05 - you waited a ridiculous amount of time for the arena fight . . .I hope it was worth the wait!  
**

** MirkwoodsPrincess225 - you got me out of a phase of writer's block by telling me that this was your favorite Star Wars story so far. And I'm glad you became interested in Kit Fisto!  
**

** Siepie - I'm very glad you liked the parts with Anakin and Cody working together. I've often wanted to find a story with them teaming up. . . Preferably against Obi-Wan, at some point . . .  
**

**Julyza - I hope the commandos were up to your expectations!  
**

**Also thank you to Katelyn144, Sued13, lionkingfactsguy, Megatronus666 and guest.**

**MistressofImladris - thank you for your review, even though I didn't manage to pull you into the Clone Wars fandom. I'll convert you yet! :P  
**

* * *

****Wow . . . I can't believe it's over. The good thing, though, is that now I can focus on my other stories. . .  
****

**Keep an eye out for 'In the Shadows', which I'll begin posting soon! I'd originally considered titling it 'A Recipe for Disaster', since it's about Quinlan Vos and Bad Batch. Let's see, a maverick Jedi teaming up with maverick commandos . . . **

**Truly a recipe for disaster, but 'In the Shadows' sounds better. ;D**


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